Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: After confronting and tying the security guard in the early hours of Monday, four people who stole money from the Shri Dev Bodgeshwar temple in Mapusa, worth around Rs 10–12 lakh, were taken into custody in Khopoli, Maharashtra.
The suspects had been found in possession of cash totaling Rs 7 lakh, three cell phones, and three screwdrivers. Additionally, one of the accused is said to have placed Rs 1.33 lakh in the bank account of a cousin who lives in Bangladesh.
The accused are Imran Shaheed Sheikh (24), Rakib Kulmohamed Sheikh (28), Raju Farat Sheikh (27), who is a native of Bangladesh but currently resides in Kolkata, West Bengal, and Mujahid Gulzar Khan (28), who is from Pune.
Subsequently, the Mapusa police were informed that Maharashtra had received reports of similar incidents. The Maharashtra police then receive this information from the Mapusa police.
On April 30, Khopoli police detained the suspects between Sawantwadi and Kolhapur; at that time, they were in possession of Rs 7.02 lakh in cash.
There were also three cell phones, three screwdrivers, and other stuff discovered. On April 30, Sawantwadi & Kolhapur has cash on hand of Rs 7.02 lakh. There were also three cell phones, three screwdrivers, and other stuff discovered.
The four suspects were then taken into custody, and the Khopoli police notified the Mapusa police of this. Raju Farat Sheikh, one of the accused, was also found to have deposited Rs 1.33 lakh into a relative’s bank account in Bangladesh, according to police investigations.
The accused are said to have admitted to breaking into the Dev Bodgeshwar Mandir (Mapusa) on April 29 during their questioning by the police. Previous to that, on April 25, the accused broke into the Shree Hanuman temple in Sheelphata-Khopoli, the Panchayat temple in Khalapur, the Jain temple in Shirur-Pune, the Sri Bahiri Dev Mandir near Tej Farm House in Khopoli, and the Shree Swami Samarth temple in Titwala, Maharashtra, on April 26.
According to Somnath Gharge, the district superintendent of police, the accused resided in CBD, Belapur. The four suspects will be turned over to Mapusa Police for further investigation following the Maharashtra Police’s inquiry.