Couple among 4 arrested over gold thefts from idols at 3 temples in Dhaka, N'ganj
Police say the couple stole gold ornaments from idols at different temples and sold them to jewellery shops.
Police have arrested four people, including a couple, over the theft of gold ornaments from idols at three Hindu temples in Dhaka and Narayanganj, and recovered part of the stolen gold.
The arrested couple are Lipi Karmakar, 29 and Arnab Roy Dipto, 30. The other accused are identified as Md Muhin, 37, and Zakaria Islam.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner (Crime) Md Faruk Hossain disclosed the details at a briefing at the DMP Media Centre today (13 October).
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
According to Faruk, the couple used to visit different temples and steal gold ornaments attached to idols before selling them to jewellery shops.
The theft at Ramna Kali Temple, under Shahbagh Police Station, took place between around 8:45am and 4pm on 7 October. Nearly six ana of gold wes stolen from the tongue of the Kali idol.
Temple priest Sujit Chakraborty filed a complaint with Shahbagh Police Station, following which police reviewed CCTV footage to identify the suspects.
Later, on the morning of 11 October, they arrested Lipi Karmakar and Arnab Roy from the Dobadia area under Uttarkhan Police Station.
During interrogation, police found their involvement in similar thefts at Siddheswari Kali Temple in Dhaka and Loknath Ashram in Narayanganj.
The couple were sent to court, where they gave confessional statements before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Based on their statements, Shahbagh police arrested Muhin, owner of Sadia Jewellers in the Dakshinkhan area, and recovered part of the gold stolen from Ramna Kali Temple.
Another theft took place at Siddheswari Kali Temple on 13 September, leading to a separate case at Ramna Police Station. Interrogation of the couple revealed their involvement in that incident as well, and police recovered the stolen gold from Zakaria based on information they provided.
Earlier on 11 September, they stole a gold chain from the neck of an idol of Baba Loknath Brahmachari at Debbhog Temple in Narayanganj.
A priest caught them while they were trying to flee, but members of the temple committee later released them.
