Temple priest arrested for theft

The Fort police arrested a temple priest for allegedly stealing gold ornaments from a temple in Manacaud on Sunday.

The accused was identified as Arun of Mangalapuram, who was the priest at the Muthumari Amman Temple. He has been charged with stealing over three sovereigns of gold from the shrine. He has been accused of pledging the stolen gold at a firm in Chala.

A priest, who joined the temple when the suspect had recently gone on leave, found the ornaments in the temple to be fake. This prompted the temple authorities to initiate a probe.

The detention of the priest by the Poonthura police in connection with another theft case three months ago had stirred controversy, resulting in disciplinary proceedings initiated against several police officers.

Published - October 06, 2024 08:42 pm IST