Three burglars who killed a security guard at a Jain temple in Borivli to steal the idols in 2010, were sentenced to life imprisonment on Saturday. Four of their associates were acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence, while two other accused died during the trial.

The theft

In the wee hours of August 22, 2010 around 8 to 9 accused plundered the Nandishwar Digambar Jain temple in Borivli before murdering watchman Devi Singh, who tried to stop them, police said. Another watchman, Rajesh Joshi, was severely injured in the attack that created an uproar in the city. The robbers had fled with six panchdhatu (mixture of five metals) idols and 22 silver umbrellas and other valuables, collectively worth over Rs 4.50 lakh.