Sambalpur: Police Uncover Creative Robbery Plot; Temple Worshiper’s Wife Among Culprits
Sambalpur: The Sambalpur Dhanupali police station in the Govindtola area discovered a robbery involving an innovative way. On the 16th, Manorama Acharya was drugged and robbed of her gold jewelry while went to buy fruit. Her family discovered her unconscious on the temple premises. After receiving a complaint, the police investigated and caught two ladies involved in the crime. The culprits were identified as Manjulata Padhi (50), wife of Debendra Padhi, a temple worshipper at the Ranisati Temple, and her sister-in-law Anukanti Mishra (30). Sadar SDPO Tofan Bagh disclosed this information at a press conference.
Manorama had bought fruit around 10 a.m. that day but had not returned home for several hours. Her family discovered her unconscious in a temple location after a thorough search. Concurrently, the temple worshippers who were present at the time also seemed perplexed by the situation. Manorama was immediately taken to Sambalpur District Headquarter Hospital and then moved to Burla Vimsar due to her serious condition. During her unconscious state, all of her jewelry was stolen. Someone claimed that she might have been impacted by consuming Ladu Prasad, which raised suspicions. A case was registered at the police station as a result of these circumstances, and an investigation was launched by ASI Shubhasmita Ray and her team under the supervision of IIC Ranjan Biswal.
The police inquiry revealed that the temple worshiper planned the entire scenario to save his wife and his sister-in-law. The two accused had been observing the woman who came to buy fruit for quite some time. On the day of the incident, they provided her with drugged coconut water and convinced her to visit the temple grounds. Following the pre-strategy, the woman fell asleep after drinking the coconut water, allowing the culprits to steal her gold jewelry and hide it in the house. To complicate matters, the worshipper also renders herself unconscious. The police collected stolen items such as a gold necklace, earrings, and a pair of gold bangles, and hauled them to court.
