DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Four members of an inter-state gang involved in robbing temples have been arrested by Punjab Police with the cooperation of police from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, officials said. Those arrested have been identified as Resham Singh alias Rinku of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttrakhand; Ravi Kumar and Honey of Mehndipur in Punjab's Rupnagar; and Rajeev Kumar alias Soni of Kumarapuram in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, they said.

Punjab Police learnt about the gang while probing a theft at a temple in Khanna.

On August 15, some unidentified persons entered the Shivpuri Temple in Khanna through window panes on the roof and stole gold and silver ornaments from the idol, the officials said.

The robbers also desecrated the idol in the temple, they said.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said four accused involved in this case were nabbed and 3.63 kg of silver was recovered from their possession. Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang was also planning robberies in temples of Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Giving details of the investigation, Senior Superintendent of Police Khanna Ashwini Gotyal said inputs were received that an interstate gang of robbers carry out thefts in temples and other religious places.

Special teams conducted raids in different districts of Punjab and other states and with the help of Uttarakhand Police, managed to trace and arrest the first accused identified as Resham Singh alias Rinku from Delhi, she said. The SSP said apart from this, with the help of Chandigarh Police, Ravi Kumar was arrested from Chandigarh and Honey from Rupnagar. She said the police have identified one more accused Mohit of Utawal in Aligarh of UP, an associate of this gang, who is yet to be arrested.

During investigation, it has also came to light that this gang of thieves used to sell the stolen silver and gold ornaments to a jeweller, Soni, who was booked as accused in this case and arrested from Lucknow. The stolen jewellery was recovered from his possession, she said, while adding that the accused is being interrogated, from which more theft incidents are likely to be revealed.

The jeweller is already facing 12 criminal cases of theft.

Gotyal said from the investigation conducted so far in this case, it has come to light that this gang of thieves has committed theft at many religious places in different states and there are various cases registered against these persons in different states for stealing from religious places. The operation was accomplished with the cooperation of Chandigarh Police, Udham Singh Nagar Police in Uttarakhand and Lucknow Police in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab DGP Yadav said.
(editor@dailyworld.in)