ENARADA, Mangalore, July 14, 2013:
The police traced and recovered some of the stolen idols of Siddantha Basadi in Moodbidri from a house in Orissa and were able to solve the mystery of the theft described as the biggest robbery from an ancient temple in the recent past.
The police seized 1.5 kg of gold in ingots, gem stones and cash from a house at Chandrashekharpur in Orissa from the in-laws house of one Santosh Das alias Ghanshyam Das. Police are searching for Santhosh who works as a peon in the Odissa state secretariat, who is absconding.
The police have recovered three idols and some gold ingots. These gold ingots are believed to be made after melting some of the stolen idols. The value of the recovered items is estimated to be about Rs. three crores, according to the police.
With the arrest of two people from Orissa two days back in connection with the stolen idols from another Basadi from Moodbidri that occurred on June 17, 2013, it was expected that the police would soon be able to solve the theft that occurred at Siddhantha Basadi.
It may be recalled that as many as 15 ancient idols valued in crores were stolen from Siddantha Mandir of Guru Basadi in Moodbidri on July 6, 2013.
