Solving Crime: A theft of 13 ancient idols, 1,000 phone calls and a 2-month police investigation

On August 22, 13 idols of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Laxman, and Lord Hanuman were stolen from the Ram temple in Jamb. (Photo: Jalna Police)

On August 22, 13 idols of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Laxman, and Lord Hanuman were stolen from the Ram temple in Jamb. These idols were believed to be consecrated in the temple in 1535 AD and worshipped by Sant Ramdas, a contemporary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Within days of the incident, with the police failing to crack the case, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed. A reward of Rs 2 lakh for information about the incident was also announced.

Superintendent of Police, Jalna, Dr Akshay Shinde said that eventually, it was technical intelligence coupled with leg work that led to the case being solved. “Based on technical data, we found nearly 1,000 mobile phone numbers active in the area of the temple in the eight-hour period on the night of August 22. From these, we found 500 numbers to be suspicious, all of which were physically verified by our team,” Shinde said. The investigation team included Inspector Subhash Bhujang from the Jalna Crime Branch.

Three of the 13 popular idols which were stolen. (Photo: Jalna Police)

He added that finally, it was this physical verification that led them to two of the main accused. One of the accused originally hails from Hyderabad while the other is from Karnataka. They, however, kept moving around, doing odd jobs like repairing stoves, gas burners and mixers, Shinde said. They were in Osmanabad when on Ram Navami, they found about the 13 popular idols that were worshipped by large crowds.

While they were not aware of its archaeological value, they planned to steal the idols and have a cast made using which they could make many more such idols and sell them, the police said. Around four people allegedly carried out the theft and passed on the idols to three others who purchased them knowing it to be stolen property, the police said.

Shinde said that so far, they have arrested two people involved in the theft and three others who were receivers of the stolen property from Karnataka. “We are still looking for two others who were involved in the theft,” Shinde added. Currently, the arrested accused are in judicial custody.