Thief steals valuables from temple, says it was for his children's education

Accused claims he robbed temples to finance children's education

This 40-year-old thief prayed before God and sought forgiveness, because he was stealing a valuable from the temple and felt bad about doing it - this is what the accused's relative has told the police.

Did he seek God's forgiveness in the five other thefts he's alleged to have committed? Cops are working on that. The Agripada police have arrested the CP Tank area resident for allegedly stealing a 1-kg silver table, worth '30,000, from a Jain temple last month. Officers said they expected to unearth more cases against him. Identified as Naresh Doshi, the accused has claimed that he committed the thefts to finance his two kids' education. He has been sent to two-day police custody.

Trap after trap
Doshi's run ended after Jain residents of Agripada on November 30 discovered the silver table on which idols were kept (bajot) in the temple near Hindustan Masjid missing. CCTV footage showed a man praying in the temple and, later, stealing the table after other devotees had left.

Senior Inspector Sawlaram Agawane formed a team under sub-inspector Siddhesh Jyoshte. "The accused was visible in the CCTV footage. We started our probe and circulated the video grabs among community groups for identification," said an officer. "That's how we found out who the man was. However, when teams reached his home, Doshi wasn't there."

A trap was then laid for him, but he didn't come home for nearly a week. Finally, on Tuesday evening Jyoshte received information that Doshi was planning to escape to Gujarat on a train. Another trap was laid for him near Mumbai Central station, and officers managed to nab him around 11 pm.

Kids or drugs?
During investigation, it was revealed that Doshi lives with his wife and two kids aged 10 and four, the younger one challenged and enrolled in a special school. Doshi claimed that he used to deal in metal but couldn't make money out of it. "The administration of the school where his younger child studies had been pressuring him to pay the fees, which pushed him to commit the crime," said his relative. The police, however, have a different story to tell. "Doshi was doing drugs and couldn't manage money for it; therefore, he started stealing ornaments and idols from Jain temples," said another officer. "Till now, we have came across five other thefts - two in Kalachowkie and one each in Sion, RAK Marg and Azad Maidan.

Rs 30k
Value of the silver table Naresh Doshi stole from a Jain temple

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