Mangaluru: Puttur Rural police have cracked a temple theft case with the arrest of an inter-state thief from Kerala and the recovery of the stolen donation box containing Rs 4,500 in cash, along with the two-wheeler used in the crime. The accused, Sathish, 31, a resident of Kasaragod, was arrested in connection with the theft at Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple in Bettampady. According to police, temple administrative committee member Vinod Kumar B filed a complaint after the donation box kept outside the temple was found missing on the morning of Aug. 25. CCTV footage later showed an unidentified person stealing the box on the night of Aug. 24. The box contained about Rs 4,500 in cash and was valued at Rs 2,500. A case was registered at Puttur Rural police station under Section 305(e) of BNS. A special investigation team tracked the suspect through Kinningaru, Badiyadka and Adoor in Kerala before apprehending him in Badiyadka. Police recovered the stolen donation box, Rs 4,500 in cash and a motorcycle worth about Rs 1 lakh allegedly used in the theft. The accused was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. Police said Sathish is also involved in an arecanut theft case registered at Badiyadka police station. The operation was carried out under the direction of Puttur subdivision DySP Pramod Kumar and the guidance of Puttur Rural in-charge inspector Thimmappa Naik. The team was led by PSIs Guna Pala J and Sushma J Bhandari, along with police personnel Ramesh, Nagaraj, Manjunath, Akash, Karthik, Sharanappa Patil, Eeranna and Hariprasad. Sampath and Diwakar of the Dakshina Kannada district CDR division assisted in the investigation.Bus falls into roadside drain near Panambur; passenger injuredA private express bus travelling from Karkala to Mangaluru met with an accident near the MCF Railway Gate in Panambur around 8.10am Friday. Police said the bus veered off the road and fell into a roadside drain, allegedly due to the driver’s negligence. The bus had departed from Karkala at around 6.30am with passengers on board. One passenger, Adithya, sustained a minor injury. The remaining passengers are safe.
