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Idols worth Rs 35 cr seized, 3 arrested
THE CRIME branch sleuths seized two 300-year-old ashtadhatu idols worth Rs 35 crore and arrested three members of an idol smugglers? gang here on Monday. The police said that these were the idols of Goddess Rukmini and Lord Vithhal, weighing 18.5 and 16.5 kg respectively.
THE CRIME branch sleuths seized two 300-year-old ashtadhatu idols worth Rs 35 crore and arrested three members of an idol smugglers’ gang here on Monday. The police said that these were the idols of Goddess Rukmini and Lord Vithhal, weighing 18.5 and 16.5 kg respectively.
Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Crime Dinesh Dubey was tipped off about the gang visiting the State Capital and making a deal of idols. Dubey formed a team and the cops posing as businessmen contacted the gang members regarding the purchase of idols.
After several rounds of discussion, the gang members gave their consent to enter into the deal offered by the policemen who posed a businessmen.
Then the police team in plain-clothes laid a trap around Dalibagh area in Hazratganj where the gang members was told to come for the deal.
The cops, who were waiting for the gang members, spotted three persons coming on a rickshaw carrying two gunny-bags. As the policemen gave them the signal to stop, the trio walked towards the VIP guesthouse in Dalibagh. The cops, too, followed them.
No sooner had the gang members taken out two idols from the gunny-bag than the police team in plain-clothes caught them. They were identified as Patiram Yadav of Azamgarh, Maniram Kewat of Sant Kabir Nagar district and Angad Yadav of Gorakhpur.
During interrogation, the criminals revealed that Rajkaran Kewat was the leader of the gang, who used to arrange the idols and dispose it of. Kewat used to send the gang members from various districts in Eastern UP for sale of stolen idols to Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Chain-snatchers’ gangs busted
In separate operations on Monday, the Alambagh and the Krishnanagar police busted a gang of chain- snatchers and recovered 10 chains from them. Gangs of four youths each were arrested Alambagh and Krishnanagar areas, respectively.
Additional SP (East) Ajay Shanker Rai, who supervised the operations, revealed that the Krishnanagar police arrested Vicky Gautam of Chowk, Suresh Kahar of Talkatora, Gurpreet Singh alias Vicky Bhatia of Aashiana and Sahil alias Kulwant Singh alias Monu Singh of Alambagh.
The cops recovered seven gold chains and two motorcycles from the possession of the accused. Similarly, the Alambagh police arrested Rakesh of Rae Bareli, Neeraj of Aashiana, Vijay Kumar Singh and Ajit Singh alias Sappu of Virat Nagar, Krishnanagar. The cops recovered three chains and wallets robbed in separate incidents from the Hazratganj area. Two motorcycles being used in the crime were also recovered from the possession of the accused.