The police on Monday arrested a 22-year-old man for his alleged involvement in temple burglaries in East Delhi's Ghazipur area. The accused, identified as Monti, a known serial offender, was arrested based on a theft at Hanuman Mandir, Mayur Vihar Phase-3, on July 12. "Upon sustained interrogation, Monti confessed to committing the theft with three accomplices, targeting multiple temples in Mayur Vihar, New Kondli, and nearby areas," Abhishek Dhania, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said. The stolen cash and other items were recovered from his possession, the officer said. A special team from Ghazipur police station zeroed in on Monti after analysing CCTV footage of the temple and adjacent areas. Search is on to nab his accomplices, who are on the run, the police said. According to the police, Monti, who studied up to class 10, targeted small temples during non-peak hours and would first conduct a prior recce to understand the layout and security vulnerabilities. He would then sneak into the temples, often by tampering with locks or scaling low boundary walls, and steal mainly cash donation boxes, small idols, and other offerings. He operated with three accomplices, each assigned specific roles — lookout, entry, theft, and getaway. Monti reportedly told the police that temples were easy targets, as such places lacked stringent security. He was involved in two previous cases of theft. The East District police have asked the management committees of religious places to install functional CCTV cameras with night vision, deploy security personnel or caretakers, especially during off-hours, and avoid keeping large amounts of cash in the offering boxes at night. The police have also sought public support in curbing such crimes and asked them to inform the police at #112 to pass information on any kind of suspicious activity.
