Idols looted from city Jain temple recovered

Jaipur: A team of Bharatpur police on Wednesday recovered two antique idols made of ashtdhatu (amalgam of eight metals) that were robbed from a Jain temple at Mahaveer Nagar in Jaipur two years ago. Police from Halena and Nadbai stations posed as buyers of the idols and nabbed the seller, who has been arrested.
According to the police, the two idols were looted in 2021 from the temple by at least four armed robbers. “We have recovered both the idols from Naya Gaon area under Halena police station. The accused who possessed these idols was attempting to sell them off in the international market,” said a police officer of Halena police station on Thursday.
Police said they had specific input that the accused was looking for customers for the idols which are said to be 258 years old. “We constituted a team and a plan to nail down the accused. We sent two of our men as customers and started bargaining with the accused, who asked for Rs 5 crore for the two idols. After taking him into confidence, the idols were recovered,” the officer said.
The accused, identified as Bijendra, had asked the cops to meet him near a tubewell at Naya Gaon. “A team of Halena police reached the spot and took the idols into their possession after arresting Bijendra,” he said. The idol robbery case was registered at Jaipur’s Bajaj Nagar police station.