The Kundera police have apprehended three individuals, including a couple, on charges of stealing approximately forty temple lamps from the Sridurga Bhadradevi Yogeeshwara temple at Kalari Athiparampil in Ambipoika, Kollam district. The arrested individuals are Prasad (46) from Kannur, his wife Haseena (43) from Chirayinkeeezhu Perumathura in Thiruvananthapuram district, and Mazhar (52) from Kollam Corporation.
After their marriage, Prasad adopted the name Salim. The culprits were identified through CCTV footage and various scientific tests. The couple resided in a rented house in Kundara Ambipoika for a month. In different districts, they would rent homes in secluded areas and carry out thefts in nearby locations.
Their status as a married couple made their neighbors less suspicious of their activities. Their daughter resides with her family near the currently rented house, which falls under Kundara Police Station. It was suspected that they had engaged in thefts in the vicinity during their previous stays at their daughter’s home.
Both individuals had previously served jail sentences as suspects in two theft cases within the jurisdiction of the Thrissur Chavakkad police station. Upon interrogation, it was revealed that Mazhar (52), who operates a scrap business near the Kollam Koonambaikulam temple in Kollam Corporation, had been regularly purchasing stolen goods from them. The stolen temple lamps were recovered from Mazhar’s scrap yard.
Mazhar was arrested as the third accused for receiving stolen items. Their modus operandi involved breaking into small temples without security guards and pilfering lamps and other items used in daily rituals. Acting on the directives of Shasthamkotta DYSP Sheriff, Kundera Station House Officer Ratheesh successfully located and apprehended the temple thieves within 24 hours.
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