Office assistant held for gold theft at ShankarMutt, Hyderabad

Hyderabad: An office assistant working at Shankar Mutt temple was arrested by the police for allegedly stealing gold coins worth Rs 7.50 lakh from the temple on Sunday. Twenty-five gold coins weighing 250 grams were recovered at his instance. The suspect Rallabandi Naga Sairam (34), a native of Khammam district, was working as an office assistant at the Mutt.

Hyderabad Commissioner Anjani Kumar said the Mutt decided to adorn the statue of the deity Sharadamba with a golden saree and solicited gold offerings from devotees. The donations were kept in a wooden almirah in the temple



manager’s room. “The suspect who was working as an assistant stole the almirah keys and committed the theft,” said the Commissioner.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kachiguda, S Sudhakar who supervised the investigation said the suspect stole the gold over a period of two months. “After stealing the gold, he kept it with a friend,” said the official. On a complaint lodged by the Mutt management, the Nallakunta Police registered a case. On suspicion, they picked up Naga Sairam, who admitted to stealing the gold.