Daijiworld Media Network – Moodbidri (SP)

Moodbidri, Mar 30: Santosh Das alias Ghanshyam Das from Chhattisgarh, had earned the notoriety of being a skilled thief of idols from different Basadis here and shooting to national fame  after stealing idols from Siddhanta Darshana Mandir related to Jain Basadi here, has again been entrusted to a day’s police custody on Friday March 28 to facilitate police investigation.

It may be recalled that idols worth crores of rupees had gone missing from Siddhanta Darshana Mandir under the Jain Basadi here on July 6, 2013. Within a few days, the policemen had succeeded in nabbing Das. Das had confessed to his crime, and was jailed. During further investigations, he had admitted to his role in thefts from various temples including in Dakshina Kannada district. He had succeeded in securing bail in several cases.

The policemen requested the court to entrust Das to their custody for questioning him relating to his possible role in thefts which occurred in Ashwathapura Temple and some other places. Because of the continuing investigation in several temple theft cases, Das has not succeeded in his plan of getting bail in all cases and returning home.