JOIN USUdupi district sees 21 temple theft cases this year, says police officer
As many as 21 cases of temple theft have been reported in the district so far, in this year.
In response to questions at the general body meeting of the Zilla Panchayat, Additional Superintendent of Police Santhosh Kumar said that the cases reported were at temples that were situated in remote and isolated areas. Most of the theft cases were of stealing from the temple collection boxes (hundis).
He said a gang of three was arrested by the police on October 29, when the police could detect eight cases, including three in Tumakuru.
“The police were able to recover Rs 29 lakh worth of gold and silver. Two teams, including the DCIB, are in charge of the investigation. There is another gang that is involved in similar robbery at temples. There have been 14 cases of such theft in 2013, while in 2014, we have had 13 cases. None of these cases, however, has been closed yet, but are being explored for further investigation,” he added.
“Meetings are being held at sub-inspector level. The temple committees are being instructed to secure precious things like gold and silver kept in their treasury and also not to display the ornaments unnecessarily, except on occasions of celebration. The night patrolling has been intensified,” he said.
When the issue of robbery at the Saukar and Barkur temples – where gold and silver worth crores of rupees was reported missing – was raised, the ASP said that the crime took place owing to the negligence of the temple authorities, although they were cautioned to be careful. There was sufficient security, but the temples are situated in isolated areas, he reminded.
The Department has clues to continue the investigation and is working on those procured at the temples when the crime was committed, said the officer.Zilla Panchayat member Mamatha Shetty said that the lives of girls in the district are becoming increasingly unsafe.
The additional superintendent said that there was shortage of personnel at police stations. “Schools and colleges are instructed to restrict the timing of special and computer classes in order to ensure that the girls reach home at the earliest. The government has also been requested for additional staff in remote areas and for extra police stations. There is a need for women police stations to be provided at district headquarters. The government can be requested to approve of two such stations,” he explained.
The Zilla Panchayat members decided to pass a resolution against the shifting of the woman police station from Kundapur.
Other issues
The members said that beneficiaries are receiving 194 litres of kerosene instead of 300 litres through ration cards. Manjunath Poojary complained that funds were not released for projects that are being carried out, including the drinking water scheme. “The project is at a standstill, which will result in acute shortage of drinking water in the district. The multi-village drinking water scheme implemented in the district has taken a back stance,” he added.
The Zilla Panchayat executive engineer said that payment worth Rs 10 crore is pending for works undertaken.
The chief executive officer said that a Rs 38 crore-worth action plan was envisioned for the year 2013-14, but work worth only Rs four crore was carried out.
The Udupi tahsildar said that 7,054 applications had been received in the Assembly constituency from the homeless needy citizens. “As many as 4,038 applications are yet to be inquired into, while 890 applications are received on Kumki land,” he added.