Thawe temple theft accused injured in police encounter

Patna: One of the accused in the Thawe Bhawani Temple theft case in Gopalganj was shot and injured during a police operation on Saturday morning. The accused, Izmamul Alam, allegedly opened fire on the police team when they attempted to arrest him, forcing the cops to retaliate. Alam sustained injuries in the exchange and was admitted to a hospital. Police had been tracking Alam for his involvement in the theft of jewellery worth Rs1.08 crore from the temple on Dec 17.During the encounter, the police recovered some stolen items, including a crown, which Alam had hidden and was trying to retrieve. The alleged mastermind of the heist, Deepak Rai, was arrested earlier, police said. Alam (21) is a resident of Govindganj under Rajepur police station in East Champaran district. He was currently living in Rani Sagar village in the Shahpur area of Bhojpur district. The mastermind, Rai, is a resident of Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh.Gopalganj SP Avdhesh Dixit stated, “Police recovered part of the stolen crown from the criminal at the spot. This crown was hidden about 1,500 metres away from the temple after the theft, which the accused had come to retrieve.”The investigation revealed that Deepak used digital platforms to gather information and plan the theft. Between Dec 9 and 13, he watched around 10–12 YouTube videos, visited temple websites, and used Google Maps to study the temple’s layout and security. The search history was recovered from his cellphone, which served as crucial digital evidence. The probe also showed that on the night of Dec 10–11, he planned to climb the temple wall using a rope and even scouted the nearby construction site. CCTV footage captured his presence near the temple and the construction site that night.“The breakthrough in the case came when the police received an anonymous tip-off suggesting that the thief was from Ghazipur. Based on this information, the police raided Ghazipur and tracked down Deepak. Although he was not at home during the raid, the police found that he had a history of theft and had been to jail before. A manhunt was launched, and Deepak was eventually arrested on the night of Dec 22 near the UP border in Gopalganj. Fingerprints found on the temple’s locker, wall, and rope matched Deepak’s, confirming his involvement in the theft,” the SP added.