Woman held for robbing devotees in temple

An alert woman helped the police arrest a thief, who used to mingle among devotees at Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple at Chowpathy and steal mobile phones and bags.

On November 13, Anita Iyyer, a Matunga resident, was at the temple for the evening prayer.

A resident of Matunga, Anita Iyyer along with her family members and friends used to visit Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple every Sunday evening for prayer. On November 13, as usual she went with her family and friends to the temple.

During the ‘aarti’, she kept her bag containing Rs15,000 and a mobile phone on the ground.  A jean-and-kurta-clad woman was standing near her and also participating in the aarti.

After the puja was over around 6 pm, Iyyer was shocked to find that her bag was missing as well as the woman standing near her.
On Sunday, she was again at the temple when she saw the same woman attending the puja. She informed the Gamdevi police. The police rushed to the temple and arrested the woman.

“Praveena Parmar, 24, was arrested from the Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple premises on Sunday night and was remanded in police custody till December 1. She was working as a domestic help in a house at Girgaon,” said a sub-inspector of Gamdevi police station. He added that they are yet to recover the stolen mobile phones and purses.