Barabanki: Silver theft from ancient Avasaneshwar temple revealed, thief and goldsmith arrested

News Topical, Digital Desk : On the night of February 3-4, a silver umbrella and a urn were stolen from the ancient Avasaneshwar Mahadev Temple, located in the Haidergarh police station area of ​​Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh. The thefts, valued at approximately 20 to 25 lakh rupees, sparked outrage throughout the area. Within 72 hours of the incident, police solved the case and arrested the thief, Virendra Kumar, and the goldsmith Jai Vishwakarma, who had purchased the stolen silver. The thief had sold approximately 5 kg of genuine silver for a mere 40,000 rupees.

According to the police, the accused thief first conducted a recce of the area, using Google Maps for this purpose. His criminal history is being investigated. The police have also recovered the stolen goods.

What was the whole matter?

According to reports, on the night of February 3-4, between 1 and 3 a.m., in the Haidergarh police station area, the accused, Virendra Chor, broke the lock of the temple's channel gate and entered the sanctum sanctorum. He stole the silver umbrella and the argha (water pot) that had been offered to the Shivalinga. The stolen items amounted to approximately 4 kg 769 grams of silver (4 kg 190 grams for the argha and 579 grams for the umbrella). The thief then melted the items and sold them. The incident caused a sensation in the entire area.

Police revealed

On Friday, Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya made the disclosure at a press conference at the police lines. He stated that the seizures from the accused included 4.769 kg of silver, ₹7,000 in cash, a gas cutter, and other burglary tools. Accused Virendra Kumar used Google Maps to survey temples and commit the thefts. He is an alcoholic and has eight previous cases registered against him. He has also committed thefts from several other temples.

The jeweler claims he was unaware of the theft.

Jai Vishwakarma, a goldsmith from Deviganj Bhitriya Road who was arrested by the police, said, "I didn't steal anything; I just bought silver from Virendra for 40,000 rupees and melted the umbrella and argha. I didn't know they were stolen from the temple." Meanwhile, the accused, Virendra, has confessed to the theft. Police have breathed a sigh of relief after solving the case.

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