UP: Complainant turns out to be thief in Mirzapur idol theft case

Mirzapur: A man who had lodged a complaint about the stolen ancient idols from the Ram-Janaki temple in the Padri police station area of Mirzapur has turned out to be the thief, police said on Saturday.

On January 14, a man named Vanshidas reported the theft of valuable idols from the temple and based on his complaint an FIR was filed at the Padri police station.

On January 18, police arrested four individuals -- Vanshidas (the complainant), Lavkush Pal, Kumar Soni, and Ram Bahadur Pal.

During the search, the police recovered the stolen idol set of Lord Ram, Lakshman, and Janaki, police said.

It was revealed during interrogation that Vanshidas had been overseeing the temple for the last three years.

He had been involved in a longstanding dispute over the temple’s ownership between his Guru Maharaj Jairam Das and Satua Baba.

When Vanshidas learned that Jairam Das intended to transfer the temple property to his nephew, he devised a plan to steal the idols and sell them, police said.