A 32-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Raigad district has been arrested for stealing silver idols from a temple apparently to clear a debt that he was struggling to repay, police said.
Mahesh Nandkumar Chaynakhwa was taken into custody on Thursday in connection with the theft at the Khandoba temple of Theronda village in Alibag taluka on May 18, police said in a release.
Chaynakhwa, a local resident, had borrowed Rs 1.4 lakh from some individuals for his wedding and business but could not repay the money. He then stole a few silver idols from the temple and planned to sell them for Rs 1.6 lakh, it said. Police have recovered all the idols from Chaynakhwa, it added.
This is the second such incident in recent times under the jurisdiction of Revdanda police station. Earlier, a few silver plates were stolen from the wall of a temple at Chaul village and the case remains undetected.