Chennai police arrest ‘monk’ who burgled Jain temples in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka

CHENNAI: After a year-long search, involving analysis of more than 200 CCTV footages, Chennai police arrested a 60-year-old man from Pune who disguised himself as a monk and burgled several Jain temples in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka.Police said Jeevan Singh was arrested by a special police team led by inspector Alagammal and produced before a Pune court. A transit warrant was obtained, and he was brought to Chennai by train on Wednesday and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison.The case surfaced in Feb 2025 when a 600-gram gold bar and a 10-kg silver crown were stolen from a Jain temple on Mint Street in Sowcarpet here. Following a complaint, the Elephant Gate police reviewed CCTV footage from the area and found that a man covered his face with a cloth and used a torch to commit the theft.Police teams tracked the suspect's movement across more than 100 CCTV cameras and traced him to Egmore railway station, where he boarded a train to Nashik, disguised as a preacher. The trail temporarily stopped after that as the whereabouts of the suspect were not known.Three months ago, a similar robbery was reported at a Jain temple in Kachiguda district in Telangana. The police team shared their CCTV footage with the Elephant Gate police, and a comparison confirmed that the same suspect was involved in both incidents.An intensive investigation identified the suspect as Jeevan Singh of Pune, Maharashtra. The investigation further revealed that he was involved in a series of temple thefts in Salem, Chengalpet and other parts of Tamil Nadu, as well as in Karnataka and Telangana.During interrogation, Jeevan Singh told police that with the sin money he bought a plot in the Lonikand area and constructed separate houses for his wife, son and daughter. The stolen gold and silver were sold to Raj Bahu Rathore, 30, a real estate businessman.