According to DSP Surendra Mainali, the coordinator of Anti-theft Section at MPCD, Pode broke the donation box close to the Budhanilkantha statue just to the east of the Pashupati temple on 15th February. [break]
Mainali said that CCTV footage showed a man meddling with the donation box at midnight between 12:30 am to 1:56 am. Police has suspected him of stealing Rs 20,000 by breaking the transparent plastic part of the box. The box is opened every four days according to the temple sources.
Pode, who works in a dyeing factory located at Bhimsengola, Kathmandu, has confessed that he had shared the money with his two friends known as Fuchhe and Kubre.
Police have also suspended policeman Nara Bahadur Basnet, who was on the duty at the time of the theft, for negligence. Police seized some cash and a piece of metal that was used in breaking the lock of the main door.
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