Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (MS)
Udupi, Apr 17: It has come to light that the gang that tried to steal the offertory box of Tangadagadi Sri Veeranjaneya Gudi and gymnasium between 2 am to 4 am on Friday, April 16, had arrived from Mangaluru in a car. They left the car and escaped when the locals chased them away.
According to the details available, at around 2.30 am on Friday, the sound of the gate that is opposite to the house of vice president Gautam, was heard. When Gautam got up and saw, a man was walking in the compound of the house wearing the helmet that was kept on the bike which was parked in the compound.
Gautam went to the temple and called Manoj, former president of the temple, and informed the matter. Both of them went together to the temple. The thief came to know about their presence and threw the helmet towards them and tried to escape. Though Manoj and Gautam threw the same helmet back at him, he made good his escape, though the helmet hit him.
Gautam and Manoj alerted the inmates of nearby houses and informed them of the presence of thieves. When all started searching, they found a car that was parked with its Bonnet open. The door of the car was also open. There was a person standing beside the car. He also made good his escape as soon as he saw people. There were spanners and other equipment in the car. There were toll receipts of Surathkal and NITK toll gates which proved that the car had arrived from Mangaluru. The matter was informed to the police.
Miscreants had tried to steal the offertory box of the temple two month ago also. On that occasion, the accused had destroyed two CCTV cameras of the temple. The act of destruction was captured on the CCTV that was inside the temple.
The offerings donated by devotees are counted every month. Usually more than Rs 10,000 was getting collected.
It is said that the accused had hired the car which had a Mangaluru registration plate. Preetham of Mangaluru had given the car on hire to the accused. It is said that the actual owner of the car is Saurabh. It is also gathered that the accused had taken the car on hire from Preetham earlier also.
The accused had arrived in a Maruti Swift car two months ago and had destroyed the CCTVs of the temple. On Friday morning they had arrived in a Maruti Ignis car. The locals, who chased the thieves, had removed the tyre of the car thinking that the accused may come back and take the car along with them. Later, the tyre was fixed back to the car after the arrival of police personnel on the morning of Friday. Now the car is taken by the police to the police station.
A case in this regard is registered at Udupi city police station.