Kotantaka Temple Inter-State Thieves Nabbed

 Anantapur:  Garladinne and CCS police have cracked the theft at the historic Lord Subramanyeswara Swamy Temple in Kotantaka of Garladinne mandal in Anantapur district within five days, nabbing the four-member interstate gang of thieves on Wednesday and recovering 16.21 kg silver ornaments and valuables from them.

On June 20, the gang broke the locks of the main door of the centuries-old temple. They broke into a safe in the main hall and took away 16.21 kg worth of silver ornaments donated by devotees over the years. They cut open two hundis and carried away Rs 15,000 cash and eight tolas of gold jewellery.

The thieves damaged the CC cameras and took away the hard disc of the CC footage. This made it difficult for the police to crack down on the thieves.

The theft attracted considerable attention not only within the state but also neighbouring Karnataka.

Police teams led by Garladinne circle inspector Sreedhar and Anantapur CCS officials arrested the thieves – C. Pavan Kumar of Turakalapatnam in Roddam of Satya Sai district, Avula Ramu of C.K. Dinne mandal in Kadapa district, Venkata Ramana of Vontimitta mandal and E. Sreenivasulu of Balakrishna Nagar in Kadapa district, and recovered 16.5 kg silver ornaments worth over Rs 13 lakh. Police also seized from them two motorcycles and equipment used for break-ins.

Villagers and devotees of Kotantaka felicitated the police team for recovering the valuables of the temple within days of the incident.