Udupi : Police Seize Ancient Shivalinga - Arrest Three

Udupi, Dec 22 (The Hindu) : Superintendent of Police Pravin Pawar said on Monday that a team of the District Crime Intelligence Bureau (DCIB) had arrested three persons and seized from them an ancient Shivalinga made of aventurine quartz, near Heranje Cross in Chantaru village.

Pawar told presspersons here on Monday that acting on a tip-off, the DCIB arrested the three and recovered an ancient Shivalinga from them.

The Shivalinga weighed about 5.9 kg. It was being carried in a car from Hebri to Brahmavar without any permit for sale. The DCIB team chased the car and caught the accused near Heranje Cross. The Linga was worth several lakhs, he said. The arrested persons are Ashoka, resident of Kola Malpe; Ramakrishna Hegde, resident of Berulli in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district; and Ramachandra, resident of Harikhandige in Udupi taluk. The case had been handed over to the Brahmavar police, he added. Mr. Pawar said that the police was seeking information about the actual value of the Shivalinga from the Gemmological Institute of India in Mumbai. The Archaeological Survey of India was being consulted to determine its antiquity. The DCIB team would be given a cash prize of Rs. 20,000, he said.

On chain snatching Pawar said the police suspected that an outside gang was behind it. “We are working on it,” he added.