Jaipur police on Wednesday arrested four members of an inter-state gang for stealing idols, silver canopies, and cash from a 400-year-old temple in Keshopura under the Bhankrota Police Station jurisdiction.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Hanuman Prasad Meena, stated that police recovered the stolen idols, ornaments, cash, and the truck used in the crime.
The theft occurred around 12:47 am on September 2, when the gang broke the glass above the temple’s main door and looted idols, silver canopies, and Rs 85,000 from a cupboard. One idol of Lord Krishna was left outside while the gang fled with the remaining valuables. The theft was discovered by priest Ramswaroop Sharma during morning prayers.
The incident coincided with Jaljhulni Ekadashi, a time when the deity is traditionally taken out in procession, causing concern among locals. To restore public confidence, a special team was formed under Additional DCP (West) Alok Singhal and ACP (Bagru) Hemendra Sharma, with SHO (Bhankrota) Manish Gupta and SI Surendra Singh leading field operations, assisted by the District Special Team and the technical branch.
Police scrutinized CCTV footage from the temple, toll booths, and probable escape routes. The surveillance helped identify the suspects, leading to raids and the arrests of:
Kundan Singh (58) – Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Anil (33) – Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Raghuveer Singh (35) – Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Hakim Singh (35) – Agra, Uttar Pradesh
The stolen idols, canopies, cash, and the truck were recovered from Bayana Road in Dausa.
Preliminary interrogation revealed that the accused were part of an organised gang targeting temples and homes across Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Police confirmed that further investigation is underway to identify other associates and previous crimes.
