The police arrested a 37-year-old man from Gujarat, who was working as a priest in the Jain temple in Kilpauk, from the Koyambedu bus terminus on Saturday on charges of stealing jewellery. The priest was identified as Vijay Motilal Rawal of Valsad, Gujarat and he allegedly committed the crime on Wednesday.
A senior police official said a complaint was filed by Meena Chakriya, a trustee of the Sri Kilpauk Swetamber Murtipuja Jain Sangh, which manages the Jain temple in Ranganathan Avenue, Kilpauk, about theft of gold jewellery weighing more than 330 grams by the priest. The Kilpauk Police took up investigation and found that Rawal had stolen the gold jewellery kept for decorating the deities based on CCTV footage.
On getting a tip-off that the accused was planning to flee the city from the Koyambedu bus terminus, the police rushed to the spot and arrested him. During interrogation, it was found that Rawal along with his friend Mahendra Rahul, who is residing in Gujarat, had planned the heist.
The Kilpauk police recovered the stolen jewellery and the accused was sent to prison.
