TAWANG, 5 Mar: In a strange incident, a tourist from West Bengal was caught on camera stealing sacred items from the Tawang monastery compound and the Giant Buddha Statue Park here in Tawang district.
The video of the incident went viral on social media, and it helped the police in tracking the accused. He was arrested on Wednesday in his home state. The incident generated heated debate on social media about the behaviour of tourists visiting Arunachal Pradesh.
Acting on the circulating footage and available inputs, a team led by DSP Tasso Kato, along with Tawang PS OC Inspector Niyi Angu, launched prompt action and successfully traced the accused on Wednesday morning.
The recovered items included a medium-sized Buddha idol from the Tawang monastery, one religious bell, as well as a pair of Tingsha cymbals and two metal butter lamps from the Giant Buddha Statue Park. All the sacred articles were recovered from the possession of the tourist. However, the authorities managing the monastery decided to forgive the accused and did not file a formal case.
The Tawang police have urged local hoteliers to extend full cooperation by properly verifying tourists’ credentials and promptly reporting any suspicious activities to the authorities.
