Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada district police arrested three persons in connection with a temple theft case reported at Bantwal Rural police station.
The accused are Basheer KP alias Akri Basheer, 44, from Hosdurg taluk, Kasaragod and Prakash Babu alias Mohammed Niyaz, 46, from Kollam district of Kerala, and FJ Mohammed Ismail, 53, from Pudu village in Bantwal taluk.
The theft, which involved silver ornaments and cash, occurred at the Tumbe Shri Mahalingeshwara Temple in Tumbe village on the night of Nov 4. Acting on the complaint, the Dakshina Kannada Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) launched an operation and arrested the suspects near Ira in Bantwal taluk, police said on Sunday. During the operation, police recovered silver ornaments worth Rs 1.2 lakh and a car used in the crime.
Among the accused, Basheer KP is a habitual offender with 13 theft cases registered against him in various police stations. Prakash Babu has three theft cases pending against him. The operation was carried out under the guidance of Dakshina Kannada SP Yathish N and additional SP Rajendra DS with support from a dedicated SIT team.