Four of gang who burgled temples in Delhi’s Rohini arrested

Police said that the burglaries, at temples in sectors 2, 3 and 7 in Rohini, took place between May 3 and August 10

Four members of a gang, that allegedly committed burglaries at least five temples in the past three months in Rohini, were arrested by the North Rohini police, the Delhi Police said on Tuesday. Police added that the suspects stole around ₹5.2 lakh cash from the temples, out of which nearly ₹12,000 was recovered from them.

Police added that the suspects stole around ₹5.2 lakh cash from the temples, out of which nearly ₹12,000 was recovered from them. (Representational image)

Police said that the burglaries, at temples in sectors 2, 3 and 7 in Rohini, took place between May 3 and August 10. All the temples were locked when the burglaries happened, mostly between 10pm and 5am. In all the cases, the suspects first broke locks of the main gate of the temples and then the locks of the donation box from which they took out the money. In one case, they also stole gold ornaments from a goddess idol, the police said.

As per the first information reports (FIRs) filed at Rohini North and South police stations, the suspects stole ₹2 lakh each from two temples in Sector 7. Besides, ₹30,000 was stolen from a temple in Sector 2.

Around ₹50,000 was stolen from the donation box of another temple in Sector 7 while the burglars hit a fifth temple in Sector 3 and stole ₹40,000 cash from its donation box. A gold nose pin and a pair of gold earrings were also stolen from the idol of a goddess at the temple.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said that a team of North Rohini police station was constituted to nab the suspects. The team analysed CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the two temples in Rohini Sector 7 that were targeted on August 10 and July 6 respectively. The suspects were captured in the footage, but their faces were not clearly visible.

“The team members also activated their human intelligence network and collected details of burglars active in the neighbourhoods. On August 12, the team learnt that some members of a gang that targets temples were active. The information was developed, and four members of a gang named ‘Machhi gang’, including its kingpin, Rahul alias Macchi, 29, were arrested on Sunday,” said DCP Sidhu.

Police identified the main suspect only by his first name.

The others arrested were Mohit alias Dhalla, 22 — who was also identified by only his first name — Brijesh Verma, 23, and Jitender Kumar, 25. All are residents of Naharpur village in Rohini Sector 7. Their interrogation led to the recovery of ₹11,973 cash and house-breaking tools used in the crimes, police said.

“They confessed to have committed three more burglaries in as many temples in Rohini sectors 2 and 3. They were being questioned to ascertain if they were involved in more such cases,” said a police officer, who requested anonymity.