Man arrested in Ongole, booty worth ₹15.5 lakh recovered

The Prakasam district police arrested a 68-year-old member of a gang allegedly involved in the theft of temple ornaments and properties, and recovered gold and silver ornaments worth ₹15.5 lakh from his possession. Kakinada Krishna Rao alias Ramakrishna was arrested on December 15 near Ongole Railway Station by a team led by N.G. Padu Sub-Inspector B. Srikanth and produced in the court for judicial remand.

According to the police, the gang comprising Savara Sipanya, Savara Bogesh, Bathina Srikanth, Savara Suryam and Kuramana Srinivasa Rao plan thefts on temples by searching for appropriate locations on Google Maps. The gang had already committed thefts in over 100 temples across the State and stolen close to 300 kg of silver ornaments, police said.

“Earlier this year, the gang reached Chadalavada village of N.G. Padu mandal on the night of January 26, 2024, and committed theft at Sri Raghunayaka temple. The silver ornaments, gold ‘mangala sutram’, and the DVR belonging to CCTV were among the items taken away by them,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) A.R. Damodhar, at a press conference on Monday.

Meanwhile, the gang reached Sai Baba temple in the nearby B. Nidamanur village, stole the ornaments and sold them to Kakinada Krishna Rao for cash. Mr. Rao, who was travelling to Chennai to sell the 15 kg gold belonging to the two temples, was arrested by the Ongole police on Sunday.

Mr. Damodhar appreciated Ongole Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) R. Srinivasa Rao, Ongole Rural Circle Inspector (CI) N. Srikanth Babu and N.G. Padu Sub-Inspector B. Srikanth and their teams for their efforts in nabbing the gang member.

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