UP police bust gang targeting temples; seize 394 brass bells, crowns

VARANASI: In a joint action by Ilia and Shahabganj police in Chandauli district, four members of a gang of thieves were busted late on Sunday night. Police recovered 394 brass bells of various sizes, four white metal crowns, two white metal statue eyes, and tools used in the theft, including a hacksaw with four blades, a motorcycle, and cash amounting to Rs 1500.

They targeted temples located in isolated areas and on village outskirts.ASP (Operations) Digambar Kushwaha said on Monday that Ilia police received inputs regarding the gathering of miscreants near Kali Mata Temple in the village of Kalani on Sunday night. They alerted Shahabganj police to surround the area from the other side. After midnight, the joint police team raided the temple compound and arrested Dheeraj Tiwari (27), his sibling Neeraj Tiwari (29), and their cousin Atul Tiwari (24) from the Jamalpur area in Mirzapur district.During initial interrogation, they confessed to their involvement in stealing bells, silver crowns, and other items from secluded temples in different police station areas of Chandauli over the past 10 days. They revealed that they sold the stolen goods to Deepak Kumar alias Deepu (19), a utensil shop owner in Jamalpur, Mirzapur. Based on their information, police raided Jamalpur and nabbed Deepu along with the stolen items.

One of their gang members, Raju Seth, managed to escape.Dheeraj, who has six theft cases in his criminal history, is the leader of this gang. This gang was active in the district for over 15 days. For almost five days, they conducted reconnaissance of the district areas to identify the temples they later targeted for theft. They also ensured there were no CCTV cameras at the places they raided. After stealing brass bells, they sold them to Deepu for Rs 470 per kg, while silver crowns were sold at higher prices.