Nagpur: In a swift breakthrough, Jaripatka police have solved a theft case involving a brass Buddha idol and cash stolen from a Buddhist Vihar in the city. The incident took place between the night of August 7 and the morning of August 8, when caretakers had locked the premises at around 8:30 pm.
According to officials, caretaker Sushma Bagde arrived at the Vihar in the morning for prayers and discovered the locks on the iron channel gate broken. Inside, a 2.5-foot brass idol of Gautam Buddha worth ?15,000 was missing. The donation box had also been removed. A search outside revealed the box lying smashed under a peepal tree, with around ?6,000 in cash missing. Three broken locks from the gate and donation box were also recovered from the spot.
Acting on technical evidence and CCTV footage, police identified the suspect as Sagar Baban Borkar, a resident of Nagbard, Godhni, under Mankapur police station. A team laid a trap and apprehended Borkar. During interrogation, he confessed to committing the crime with an accomplice and revealed that the stolen idol had been hidden in a house. The idol was recovered in the presence of panch witnesses.
The search for the second accused is underway. The operation was conducted under the supervision of DCP (Zone 5) Niketan Kadam, ACP Satyawan Bandiwar, and Senior PI Arun Kshirsagar, with API Ashish Morkhede, PSI Maroti Jangilwad, and a team of police personnel. Citizens have lauded the prompt investigation and recovery.
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