Odisha woman, three sons held for temple thefts; stolen items worth over Rs 12L seized

In a major breakthrough, the Jagatsinghpur Sadar Police on Thursday busted a notorious gang involved in temple idol thefts across several districts of Odisha. The police arrested four members of the gang, including a woman and her three sons, during a raid at Chadei village on Wednesday night.

According to police sources, the arrested accused have been identified as Nirmala Acharya and her sons Sarada Acharya, Barada Acharya, and Annada Acharya, all hailing from Ashrampatana Malitota village.

During the operation, police recovered several stolen items from the gang’s possession, including a brass Naga idol, two silver crowns, a brass plate, two gold earrings, and Rs 64,000 in cash. The total estimated value of the seized items stands at around Rs 12 lakh, informed Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police (SP).

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Investigations revealed that the accused family had a long criminal history and had been involved in several temple theft cases in Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Naugaon, Bhubaneswar, and Niali police station areas.

Police sources said the gang targeted temples in rural and semi-urban areas, stealing idols and ornaments made of brass, silver, and gold, which they later sold through local networks.

The SP praised the Jagatsinghpur Sadar Police team for their swift and coordinated action, adding that efforts are on to trace other members connected to the gang’s operations.