Idol theft: 2 Nepalese men arrested, all four idols recovered

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 19

The Chopal police on Saturday arrested two men for theft of ancient idols from the Shirgul Maharaj temple in Chopal and recovered all four stolen idols.

The value of these 250-year-old ‘ashtdhatu’ idols was in crores and the accused had stuck a deal to sell these idols for Rs 50,000.

The police had spotted two people with muffled faces on the CCTV but they could not be identified.

However, the pick axe used for breaking the lock was clearly visible and seemed to be purchased recently, which provided a vital clue and the cops enquired about the axe from the local market and the purchaser was identified, said Chopal SHO Dharam Singh Thakur.

The police arrested Chatter Bahadur and Dipender, both hailing from Nepal, while the search for the third man is on, he said, adding that two men had broken open the lock and stolen the idols while the third kept a vigil outside. 

A case was registered at Chopal police station on the complaint of priest Daleep Kumar Sharma, who said that miscreants broke into the temple and stole four idols and one conch from the temple on the intervening night of August 17 and 18. The crime came to notice when the priest reached the temple to perform the morning puja and saw the broken locks and missing idols.