Man sells stolen temple jewels, returns to Chennai to set up a shop, arrested
Police investigation revealed that Dhinakar had travelled to Mumbai and then to Chitrakoot to meet his friends, where he had spent close to Rs 2 lakh, boozing with friends.
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CHENNAI: After stealing jewels from a T Nagar temple where he worked for less than a week, a 33-year-old man from Chattisgarh fled the city on the Lok Sabha polling day (April 19) when majority of the police force was on security detail at polling booths.
However, Chennai Police, without breaking any sweat, arrested the accused, Dhinakar Tripathi (33), when he returned to the city on Friday (May 17), a month after the theft, with hopes of setting up a mobile accessories shop with the money he made by selling the stolen temple jewels.
Dhinakar Tripathi had used a referral to join work as a cook's assistant at Sri Hayagriva Vadiraja temple on Raghaviah Road, T Nagar, on April 13. On polling day, the temple executives and staff left the premises at around 2 pm, leaving Dhinakar alone there. Later, in the evening, when the in-charge of the temple Madhusudhan Bhatt tried calling Dhinakar to enquire about food, his phone was found to be switched off. When the temple executives reached the temple a few minutes later, they noticed that a 20 sovereign-gold chain adorning a deity was missing.
Pondy Bazaar Police registered a case based on their complaint and began investigation. "The accused was caught on CCTV camera while carrying out the act of theft. We also found that he had sold the jewels in Parrys for over Rs 6 lakh and boarded a train from the Central railway station," an investigating officer said.
Police investigation revealed that Dhinakar had travelled to Mumbai and then to Chitrakoot to meet his friends, where he had spent close to Rs 2 lakh, boozing with friends. Assuming that the case against him would have fizzled out, he returned to Chennai on Friday when he was caught by the police.
"Apart from using mobile phone tracking, we learnt through our sources that he had plans to return to the city as he was apprehensive about staying with that much cash in his hometown. He had approached people he knew in Chennai city to help him set up a small mobile phone accessories shop," said a police officer.
Police seized Rs 4.5 lakh cash from the accused. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
