In the biggest heist of antiques in the history of Karnataka and probably of the country too, thieves made away with priceless ancient idols from one of the oldest and holiest Jain shrines in Moodabidri, about 37 km from Mangalore.
Police believe there were at least four thieves involved in the heist that is believed to have been executed at 1.10 am on Saturday. Of the eight CCTVs installed in the premises, two have captured only one person and that too, masked. The footage shows a person – the police believe ‘him’ to be in his early 30s – entering with a flashlight in his mouth and a cutter in his hand. The footage shows him entering the strong room – called Siddhanta Mandira, breaking open the glass enclosure and taking out each of the 15 priceless statues. What happened next inside the strong room is not known since the person smashes all the CCTV cameras on sight.
Piecing together the heist, the police, which refused to come on record because ‘‘it is a high-profile case,’’ said the person entered the Mandira, popularly known as Guru Basadi, through the window, after the grill protection on it was cut open with the help of a gas cutter. The next barrier – a rolling shutter – was also breached with a gas cutter. There were in all 52 idols kept for public viewing.
While all the 15 stolen idols are invaluable, Bahubali in a sitting pose is considered to be only one of its kind in the entire world.
Three security staff members were on duty at the time, but the thieves still managed to get away with the idols made of gold and precious stones. They, however, left the ancient sacred Dhavala text, also considered priceless and kept right next to the idols, untouched.
The thieves have left behind a small LPG gas cylinder, oxygen cylinder, a bag and an English newspaper.
Police believe there were at least four thieves involved in the heist that is believed to have been executed at 1.10 am on Saturday. Of the eight CCTVs installed in the premises, two have captured only one person and that too, masked. The footage shows a person – the police believe ‘him’ to be in his early 30s – entering with a flashlight in his mouth and a cutter in his hand. The footage shows him entering the strong room – called Siddhanta Mandira, breaking open the glass enclosure and taking out each of the 15 priceless statues. What happened next inside the strong room is not known since the person smashes all the CCTV cameras on sight.
Piecing together the heist, the police, which refused to come on record because ‘‘it is a high-profile case,’’ said the person entered the Mandira, popularly known as Guru Basadi, through the window, after the grill protection on it was cut open with the help of a gas cutter. The next barrier – a rolling shutter – was also breached with a gas cutter. There were in all 52 idols kept for public viewing.
While all the 15 stolen idols are invaluable, Bahubali in a sitting pose is considered to be only one of its kind in the entire world.
Three security staff members were on duty at the time, but the thieves still managed to get away with the idols made of gold and precious stones. They, however, left the ancient sacred Dhavala text, also considered priceless and kept right next to the idols, untouched.
The thieves have left behind a small LPG gas cylinder, oxygen cylinder, a bag and an English newspaper.
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