Man steals idol of Christ, gold chain from church

Vadodara: A 36-year-old man was arrested by the crime branch on Sunday for allegedly stealing an idol of Jesus Christ along with a gold chain from a church in the Gorwa area. Jignesh Pateliya (Christi), a resident of Chhani, was nabbed when he attempted to sell the gold chain near the Pandya bridge.
The police said that Pateliya had broken into the church on the night of June 28 and stole the idol and the gold chain.The accused had even sustained injuries while breaking the glass box in which the idol was kept. He went to the SSG Hospital later and was treated for the injury.
The accused told the police that he had gone to the church to pray and that’s when he saw the idol and the gold chain and decided to steal it. When asked the reason for stealing, the accused said that he needed the money. “The accused has completed his Master in Arts and worked as a teacher for two years. As he was not getting a good salary, he quit the job during the Covid pandemic,” the police said.
Pateliya had taken up a marketing job three weeks ago but wasn’t earning well so he decided to steal the gold chain. He told the cops that he disposed of the idol at some place and kept the gold chain worth Rs 45,000 with him.