Police Commissioner of Mangalore Manish Kharbikar held discussions with the top officials of the Commissionerate Police here on Tuesday regarding the recovery of gold and Jain idols from the city, which were stolen from a Jain shrine in Moodabidri near Mangalore in coastal Karnataka, said Bhubaneswar DCP Nitinjit Singh.
Kharbikar pointed out about the loot and discussed with the special squad of the Commissionerate Police along with top officers to nab the main accused Ghanashyam Das alias Santosh from Itamati area in Nayagarh district, who is still absconding.
The DCP informed Kharbikar about the seizure of over 1 kg gold, Rs 2.5 lakh cash, seven ATM debit cards and different Bank Cheque Books and ancient Jain idols from a house of the looter’s relative at Sailashree Vihar in city on Saturday.
He also told about the seizure of over 1 kg gold from looter Santosh’s bank locker in the city. The Mangalore Commissioner took a minute detail about the investigation in the case and chalked out a plan to arrest the accused. Kharbikar was already informed about the arrest of the father-in-law and wife of the looter from the city for hiding idols and articles stolen from the Jain shrine. The duo was taken by the Karnataka police on transit remand on Monday. The police are investigating into the matter for more seizure and launched a manhunt to nab the mastermind of the high-profile loot.
Notably, a burglary had taken place at around 1:10 am on July 6 by a few unidentified thieves who had stolen 15 idols and gold studded with diamonds and precious gems from the Jain shrine in Mangalore.