₹6L stolen from Durgiana Temple in Amritsar, 1 held
THEFT Police recover around ₹30 lakh more from the accused who is a cashier at the temple and was allegedly committing such thefts from past four years
AMRITSAR: The police on Friday arrested one person in connection with the ₹6 lakh loot from famous Durgiana Temple in Amritsar on the Diwali eve.
Cashier Vishal at the Durgiana Temple, was arrested for the alleged theft on Friday.
Police have recovered around ₹30 lakh from the accused.
Police sources said that the accused was allegedly committing thefts at the temple from past four years with the help of two accomplices.
The theft came into fore at around 6 am on Friday following which, police was informed.
Senior police officials of the Civil Lines police station, where the case was registered, visited the spot.
It is learnt that the thieves had fled with ₹ 2,000 currency notes worth ₹ 6 lakh while they had left the denominations of ₹500, ₹100, ₹50 and ₹10 total worth around ₹7 lakh, which were kept in a wooden alrmirah.
As per the CCTV footage procured by the police from the spot, the thieves struck at 9.30 pm as they covered the camera with a piece of cloth.
“We are still investigating the matter. It may be the work of one person or even more”, said inspector Shivdarshan Singh, SHO Civil Lines police station.
The police are suspecting the involvement of more staff members from temple.
Around 10 staff members including two cashiers and security guards were rounded up by the police.
Police have also taken the finger print samples from the spot and said these will be matched with the prints of the suspects in the case.“The thief was in no hurry and was aware of the money in the almirah. Moreover a guard was seen in the footage checking the locks of the room before switching off the lights. He didn’t lock the side door from where the thieves entered the room. This is suspicious,” said a senior police official.
“Earlier, two more persons were seen dragging out boxes of crackers from the same room, in the footage. We are interrogating every suspicious person,” he added.
Ramesh Kumar, president of temple committee, said that the amount was earned from the sale of the prasad on Diwali. “We usually have earnings of over ₹10 lakh during festivals as compared to around ₹2 lakh in a day in routine. There were two packets of notes kept in the almirah but thieves fled with one.”
He said the cash was yet to be deposited by the staff in the strong room.