Puri: Superintendent of Police (Puri) Kanwar Vishal Singh here on Wednesday identified the suspect in the vandalism of earthen stoves in the kitchen of Jagannath Temple as J Mahapatra.
Speaking to the media, the SP said that the 30-year-old, a resident of Begunia in Khurda district, was apprehended from his village. “He has confessed to the crime. A devotee, he felt uneasy after visiting the temple and ransacked the chulhas. He will be forwarded to court today,” he said, adding that the details of his identification were being withheld due to the sensitivity of the case.
The motive behind his act is yet to be ascertained and further probe in this regard is underway, the SP said.
Singh further said that his statement is currently vague and they would seek his remained for further interrogation.
Notably, the suspect was nabbed from an area on the Puri-Khurda border on Tuesday night after examining CCTV footage of the shrine and sharing his photo with all police stations.
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A police team, comprising five senior officers, was earlier formed to nab the miscreant involved in vandalising at least 43 chulhas (earthen stoves) used for cooking Mahaprasad in the kitchen of the 12th-century shrine on Saturday night.
Despite the CCTV footage, the identification of the accused proved to be a challenge for police as he was not using a mobile phone. A person at the Puri railway station finally identified him after police began circulating his picture in public. “The accused had gone to the Puri beach after committing the offence. He took bath in the sea and later boarded a train at the railway station. He alighted from the train at Jatni railway station,” the SP said.
Prima facie, it appears that he was the only person involved in the incident, he added.
