Three Thai Nationals were sent to jail for allegedly stealing a 15th century sandalwood rosary of poet Sant Kabir from his ashram here posing as monks, a senior officer said today.
The accused were produced before a judicial magistrate yesterday which sent all of them to jail, Inspector General of police (Varanasi Range) G L Meena said.
A group of four were detained at Kushinagar on December 5, out of which the fourth accused, detained for his alleged involvement in a theft at Belur Math (Kolkata), was handed over to Kolkata Police, he said. A wooden sandal (kharaoon) was recovered from their possession, Meena said.
The three accused were identified as Patta Rawat, Talabhat, and Phruk (Phrek) and the fourth accused was identified as Siri Chai suspected for a theft in Belur Math.
The trio were detained by the Gorakhpur police when they were trying to escape to Nepal at Sonbarsa, Circle Officer (Chetganj) Rakesh Kumar Singh said.
Police at Kushinagar and Gorakhpur were already alerted by Kolkata and Varanasi police, he said.
"The three Thai Nationals posing as monks were first located in Kolkata. They all were staying in a luxury hotel along with some associates, but as soon as we reached the hotel they fled. When we checked the CCTV footage of the hotel we found that they changed their dress to a jeans and t-shirt," Singh said.
