Udupi: Kollur police arrested three women within 24 hours of a theft in which Rs 80,000 was stolen from a devotee’s handbag at Mookambika Temple.The accused have been identified as Netravathi, 33; Sharada, 50; and Durgamma, 44, all from Bhadravati in Shivamogga district.According to police, the complainant, Nimisha, and her husband, Prajosh, had visited the temple Saturday. After exiting the temple, she found that her purse containing Rs 80,000 in cash was missing. Based on her complaint, Kollur police registered a case under Section 303(2) of the BNS.A police team analysed CCTV footage, photographs taken by members of the public and other technical evidence, identified and arrested the three accused within 24 hours. They were produced before the jurisdictional court and remanded to judicial custody.Police said Durgamma has two previous theft cases registered at the Lashkar police station in Mysuru and the Old Town police station in Bhadravati.Sharada also has a criminal record, with two theft cases registered at the Bengaluru city railway police station and one at Ashokapuram police station.Police are investigating whether the trio was involved in similar thefts at other places of worship..
