The Visakhapatnam police have achieved a breakthrough in the sensational theft case at the famous Karaka Chettu Polamamba temple with the arrest of three persons. Four kg silver, 25 tolas gold, 4.128 silver ornaments and cash to the tune of Rs 3.25 lakh were recovered from them, in addition to the cash of the temple that had been stolen.
Following their investigations, police had shown pictures of three persons to the temple staff. The staff recalled that they had seen them during Annadanam a week before the crime. The theft happened on 21 March 2021. On the day, leaders of 14 villages around the Polamamba temple had demanded that the gold and silver stolen must be recovered within a week’s time, failing which they would launch a dharna. The leaders told reporters that a major festival of Goddess Polamamba is slated for 27 April. They wanted all the ornaments retrieved by then, which include the gold crown of the Goddess. Now, the gold has been recovered from the thieves, so people have thanked the Visakhapatnam police.
Police Commissioner of Visakhapatnam Manish Kumar Sinha said, “Umesh and his two children committed this theft. They broke into the temple and took the jewellery. We got clues and with the help of the dog squad, we traced them. We recovered the equipment with which they broke the temple locks. They are Tamilians who stole the ornaments.”