Anantapur police on Saturday busted an interstate gang involved in a series of temple and house burglaries across Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The arrests led to the recovery of 12.35 kg of silver ornaments worth Rs22 lakh, 44 grams of gold, 20 kg of brass bells, and 5 kg of copper utensils. According to Superintendent of Police P Jagadeesh, IPS, the gang had carried out thefts in nearly 20 cases targeting temples and isolated houses. The accused V Marriswamy alias Sangeetha (45), V Raju (37), and M Srinivasulu (49), all from Settur mandal of Anantapur district are repeat offenders with prior cases in both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka’s Chitradurga, Hiriyur, Abbinahal, and Challikere regions. Police said the trio, addicted to gambling and alcohol, had fallen into debt and turned to theft to fund their habits. They mainly broke into temples located on village outskirts and houses in deserted areas, stealing valuables for resale. Among the targeted temples were Parlachedu Tatimaremmavari Temple, Chintarlapalli Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Kotthamiddele Peddamma Temple, Akkammamba Temple (Kalyandurg), and several Maremmavari and Sunkulamma shrines across Anantapur and Karnataka. The breakthrough came when Kalyandurg DSP Ravi Babu received credible information, leading to a special operation under CIs Neelakantheswara and Vamsikrishna. The gang was intercepted and arrested near Kurlapalli Cross. The SP lauded the efforts of the Kalyandurg Rural and UPS police teams for successfully cracking the interstate gang.
