A tourist from West Bengal was detained by police in Itanagar for allegedly stealing religious items from two prominent sites in Arunachal Pradesh, including the revered Tawang Monastery, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the police, the accused — a 54-year-old man — was identified and traced after CCTV footage of the theft surfaced on social media and quickly went viral. The video showed the man allegedly taking a Buddha idol and other sacred objects from the monastery premises, prompting Arunachal Pradesh Police to launch an investigation.
Authorities said a Buddha idol was stolen from Tawang Monastery, which is considered the largest monastery in India. In addition to the idol, a pair of Tingsha cymbals and two metal butter lamps were also reported missing from the Giant Buddha Statue Park in the area.
Police tracked down the suspect in Itanagar on Wednesday morning and recovered all the stolen items from his possession. Officials estimated the value of the recovered articles to be between ₹15,000 and ₹20,000.
However, the monastery authorities chose not to pursue legal action after the items were recovered. According to officials, the caretaker monk and the monastery management decided to pardon the tourist after he expressed regret for his actions.
Police also obtained a written undertaking from the accused in which he admitted his mistake and promised not to repeat such behavior. He further assured authorities that he would respect religious sentiments and sacred places in the future.
Officials said the man had arrived in Tawang with his wife on March 2 for a vacation when the incident took place.
