Antique bowl taken from Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple; police conclude unintentional theft by Australian citizen

The alleged theft, reported on October 18, actually occurred on the Vijayadashami day, October 13, when the temple witnessed a heavy influx of devotees

The Thiruvananthapuram City police investigating a suspected theft of an antique artefact from the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple have concluded that the incident was unintentional, but one that highlighted vulnerabilities within the temple’s high-security zone.

The loss of the ‘Thalipaathram’, a small vintage brass bowl used for puja, from the highly secure temple interiors raised alarms and prompted a frantic search that extended as far as Haryana. Weighing less than 200 grams, the artefact has Malayalam and Tamil engravings on it, sources said.

The alleged theft, reported on October 18, actually occurred on the Vijayadashami day, October 13, when the temple witnessed a heavy influx of devotees.

Investigators reviewed footage from the temple’s security cameras and spotted a group of three individuals exiting the premises with the brassware. The investigators identified the group leader as Gangesh Jha, an Australian citizen who hailed from Bihar.

Came for pilgrimage

B.V. Vijaya Bharat Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Traffic), said that the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holder had come to India for a pilgrimage following his father’s recent death. His father was a Professor at Banaras Hindu University. The trio had also visited several temples across India, including Rameswaram and Varanasi.

According to Mr. Reddy, the incident arose when Mr. Jha was provided a plate with fruits, flowers, and other items for a special darshan. After accidentally dropping his plate, another devotee helped him pick up the items from the floor, inadvertently placing the brass bowl on it.

During the darshan, Mr. Jha handed the plate to the priest, who returned it without noticing the bowl, likely due to the crowd. This led Mr. Jha to mistakenly believe that he could take the bowl with him, the officer said.

The Fort police tracked the group down to a hotel in Gurugram with assistance from the Haryana police. Mr. Jha has been arrested under Section 314 (punishment for dishonest misappropriation of property), a bailable offence, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The law enforcers opted to drop Section 305 (theft in a dwelling house, vehicle, place of worship, or government property), which is non-bailable and carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Having impounded the foreigner’s passport, the police plan to release him on station bail and will summon him if necessary.

Published - October 20, 2024 10:02 pm IST