2 arrested for vandalising Mother Mary statue, accused wanted to steal gold chain to pay dad’s bail
Locals protesting over the desecration of Mother Mary’s statue in Kurla, Mumbai. Picture Courtesy: Alicia Fernandes
Vinobha Bhave Nagar police on Tuesday arrested two youths for allegedly desecrating Mother Mary’s statue, which had sparked an outrage among Christians in Kurla.
According to police, the grotto of Mother Mary installed on a roadside in Kurla’s Christian Gaon was desecrated at around 4 am on Sunday. Following which, Christians from the area gathered and staged protests to demand justice.
The cops also obtained CCTV footage of the area, which showed two bikers conducting a recce of the spot.
Although the footage did not help identifying the accused, who were wearing helmets at the time, cops launched a manhunt to trace the bike’s owner.
Despite having the registration number of one bike, police had to run from pillar to post in search of the owner as the bike was old and had exchanged hands multiple times in the past.
Over a dozen previous owners were questioned before the search led them back to Kurla. After finding the bike, cops simply waited for the owner to show up and made the arrest.
Paramjit Singh Dahiya, DCP, zone V confirmed the arrest.
The accused, Kiran Rode (28) and Babu Kunchikurve (19), have been booked for theft and hurting religious sentiments. They will be produce before Kurla metropolitan court today.
During questioning, one of the accused confessed that he wanted to steal the gold chain from the statue to pay for his father’s bail, who incidentally had been arrested for robbery.
“The accused, who were allegedly drunk at the time, had heard that the Mother Mary statue had a real gold chain. They decided to steal the chain to arrange money for bailing his father,” said a police source.
The duo were residents of Makadwala Compound in Kurla West.
