Man steals Rs 20 lakh worth gold ornaments from priest’s house after he died of COVID

A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing Rs 20 lakh worth of gold ornaments, silver, and cash from a priest house in the Konanur area of Arkalgud Taluk in Hassan district of Karnataka. According to the reports, the thief was a priest’s employee.

Reportedly, the robbery incident took place when the employer, a priest, died due to the Coronavirus.

The accused has been identified as 39-year-old HR Venkatesh, who worked as a daily wage worker and lived in Hangal village.

According to a report in The Times of India, the 68-year-old priest, Lavakumar was bedridden from two years due to heart ailments and other comorbidities. However, he died on August 10 due to fever.

Reportedly, he was tested positive for COVID-19 on the day of his death after his swab samples were taken. Some reports claimed that the priest contracted the virus from his relative who had visited him recently.

After his corona report, the man’s funeral was carried out by the health department and no one from his family participated in his last rites.

Lavakumar was living with his wife while his brother lives next to him. The priest’s three daughters were married and living in other places.

All the primary contacts of the priest have also undergone a corona test and they all were tested negative. His house was sealed for two weeks and his wife and brother were moved to their relative house in the village.

However, the priest’s brother Kushakumar used to visit the house every two days to check if everything is fine. On August 24, he left stunned after seeing the house’s condition.

Reportedly, the almirah was opened by robbers who entered the house from the back door.

The police arrested the daily wage worker Venkatesh from the Basvapantha bus stand for his alleged involvement in the robbery.

Police recovered 450 gm gold ornaments, 3 kg silver, and Rs 20,000 in cash from his possession.

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