Dharmasthala Police have arrested a mother-daughter duo, B.B. Jaan (59) and her daughter Masabi @ Aarthi (34), from Hubballi, for stealing gold jewellery from devotees at the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala temple.
The theft came to light after a devotee, J. Latha from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, noticed 97 grams of gold worth Rs6,79,000 missing from her bag on May 3 during her visit. She immediately filed a complaint on May 4.
After nearly five months of investigation, Sub-Inspector Samarth Ganiger and his team traced the duo near Dwarka, Dharmasthala, when they allegedly returned to commit another theft on November 23.
During searches of their residence in Hubballi, police recovered 76 grams of gold worth ₹5,32,000. Both women have been linked to multiple previous temple theft cases. They were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by Belthangady court.
The operation was conducted under DySP Rohini C.K. and Inspector Subbapoor Math, with Sub-Inspector Samarth Ganiger and his staff executing the arrest and recovery.
