Jagatsinghpur: The Jagatsinghpur police on Sunday busted an antique idol theft racket and arrested three persons – all siblings, and recovered more than antique 50 idols, including brass idols of Lord Shiva, a bell (ghanta) and many other articles.
The arrested accused have been identified as Barada Prasanna Acharya, Ananda Prasanna Acharya and Sarada Prasanna Acharya.
The accused had buried the idols inside a house in Chadei village. Jagatsinghpur police unearthed and recovered idols worth lakhs of rupees with the help of locals.
While the Balipatna police in Khurdha district arrested two siblings – Barada Prasanna Acharya and Annada Prasanna Acharya, on Friday, the Jagatsinghpur Sadar police arrested their elder brother Sarada Acharya from Chandhei village on Saturday.
It is worth mentioning here that the accused brothers used to steal valuable idols from various places across Odisha and sell them at high prices.
During interrogation, the accused confessed that they buried the idols beneath their house. Those who have bought the idols from the accused will also face legal action, police said.
