Thodupuzha police have busted a major inter-district temple theft gang allegedly involved in a series of thefts at prominent temples in Idukki and neighbouring areas.

The arrested are Ameer Hamsa (26), a native of Assam residing in Perumbavoor; Ubaid (38) of Kootumukham in Taliparamba, Kannur, an online taxi driver; and Rasakh (54), alias Anas, of Nandanathparambil House, Thammanam, Ernakulam, who allegedly purchased the stolen articles. Police have intensified the search for another gang member, identified as Sumeer, a native of West Bengal.

Police said this is the first time in the state that a gang allegedly using an online taxi to commit temple thefts has been arrested. All the articles reportedly stolen from various temples in Ernakulam and Idukki districts were recovered from Anas's shop at Thammanam. Police said a person from Pattambi had been purchasing the stolen property.

Planned theft at Amaramkavu Temple
The first theft took place between midnight on May 31 and the early hours of June 1 at the more than 1,000-year-old Amaramkavu Devi Temple at Kolani, under the Thodupuzha police station limits.

The gang allegedly removed the temple's electricity fuse before smashing the CCTV cameras and taking away the DVR. They then broke open the bottom sections of three hundis and stole around ₹15,000. Two of the boxes brought near the Panchamoorthi shrine were also found with their locks broken.

The same temple was targeted again on September 3. The gang allegedly stole around 60 brass oil lamps, two uralis and two hanging lamps, among other articles, with a total estimated value of around ₹70,000. They also damaged and stole items from around 70 lamps and hundis kept at the temple.

The gang's modus operandi was so extensive that the accused were reportedly unable to give police an exact account of all the temples in Ernakulam where they had allegedly carried out thefts.

Shadow Police and CCTV Footage Provide Breakthrough

Following the series of thefts, a special investigation team was formed on the directions of Idukki District Police Chief Dr A Naseem. Following the intervention of the ADGP, a Shadow Police team was deployed, and night patrolling was intensified.

Technical examination of CCTV footage from the areas where the thefts occurred, and nearby houses in Anikkad panchayat led investigators to identify two suspicious cars. One of the vehicles was found to be regularly used as an Uber taxi, leading the investigation to driver Ubaid. Police subsequently took the suspects into custody from Ernakulam.

The team comprised Thodupuzha DySP Saji Markose, Inspector Manesh KP, SIs Jibin Thomas, Arun Chandran, Ananthu Shekhar and Shams, Senior Civil Police Officers Biju and Joy, and Civil Police Officers Joy Thomas, Ajeesh Thankappan, Babukuttyan, Ajimon and Babu Suresh.

Police said the arrested suspects would be taken into custody for further evidence collection and that their possible involvement in other theft cases would also be investigated.