Nivedya uruli of Padmanabhaswamy temple not stolen but given by staff, statement of accused out

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The statement of the accused said that the nivedya uruli of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple was not stolen but given by the staff of the temple. Reports said that one Ganesh Jha, the main accused in the case, has given a statement like this. However, the police have not confirmed this.

The accused will be brought to Kerala in a flight by this afternoon. Ganesh Jha, born in India and settled in Australia and three other women have been arrested. The Gurgaon police nabbed the robbery gang from Haryana. Fort circle inspector has reached Haryana to get the accused into custody.

The theft happened on Thursday. The uruli belonging to the precious artefact collection was stolen. The shortage of uruli was noticed while counting the offering vessels. On checking the CCTV, it was found that a four-member gang had stolen. The Fort police was immediately informed. The accused were arrested quickly.

The gang had come to visit the temple. While walking around the temple, the man who was with them, took the uruli kept near the thidappalli and hit it under his dhoti, and went out of the temple. Investigations conducted on Friday revealed that they reached Udupi and from there took a flight to Haryana. They were taken into custody after their information was handed over to the Haryana Police. They gave the statement to the police that it was not for financial gain but they took the uruli of the temple to keep it in the pooja room. The temple and its surroundings are a highly security area. The theft has also become a headache for the police. It is informed that action is possible against the policemen who were on duty in the incident.