Mumbai Police have successfully arrested three suspects in connection with a theft at the Sri Shivdi Jain Sangh temple located in Mulraj Bhawan, Sewri. The theft took place between April 22 and April 23, and the stolen items included gold and silver ornaments valued at nearly Rs5.7 lakh.
The accused have been identified as Sunil Singh Dabhi (23), Rahul Singh Vaghela (20), and Jigarsingh Vaghela (19), all residents of Banaskantha, a district in Gujarat. The police investigation revealed that the suspects had broken into the temple by forcing open its lock. The stolen items included 190 grams of gold ornaments and 750 grams of silver ornaments, such as gold tikas, silver crowns, and other valuable religious artefacts.
In an attempt to conceal their identities, the suspects covered their faces with handkerchiefs, destroyed the CCTV cameras, and even damaged the Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which was meant to record footage. However, despite these efforts to evade identification, a team of 14 police officers, including detection officers and technical experts, managed to trace the suspects through over 70 CCTV cameras across 29 different locations.
The police’s diligent work led them to Banaskantha, where the suspects were located after a three-day operation. All of the stolen property was recovered from their possession during their arrest on Friday.
The investigation was conducted under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) IPS R. Ragasudha, and the operation was led by ACP Matunga Division Yogesh Gawde and R.A.K. Marg Police Station PI (Crime) Sandeep Randive.
