Pune: Police on Tuesday arrested a man from Kolhapur on the charge of stealing cash from the historic Kasba Ganapati temple in Pune city.Senior inspector Sandeep Deshmane told TOI, “We arrested Sangram Rajendra Jadhav (29), a resident of Gadhinglaj in Kolhapur district. He is unemployed and came to Pune city a few days ago in search of job.”Kasba Ganapati is considered the presiding deity of Pune city. Temple trust officials told Faraskhana police that the donation box contained Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. They said the theft occurred sometime between 11.30pm on Monday and 5.15am on Tuesday. Police are verifying the timing of the theft and the exact amount of cash stolen from the donation box.Joint commissioner of police Sanjay Darade, deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale and other senior police officers visited the spot in the morning after the theft came to light. Senior inspector Sandeep Deshmane told TOI, “The temple priest, Heramb Thakar (54), lodged a complaint with us. The donation box is opened once in 15 days. After the just-concluded Ganesh festival, the temple trust was supposed to open it.”Police arrested Jadhav from a spot nearly 4km from the temple after examining the CCTV footage of the roads leading to it. “He entered the temple through the adjacent wada, which is undergoing renovation and shares a common wall and wooden door. Temple trust officials said the old wooden door of the wada sometimes remained open or had a gap between the door and the floor,” an officer said.Senior inspector Deshmane said the priest’s room on the temple premises was properly locked. “The main entrance door of the temple was also locked. The only access to the temple is through the common wall or the common door it shares with the adjacent wada,” he said.“Jadhav sneaked into the temple from the wada, broke open the lock of the sanctum sanctorum and reached the donation box. He then broke the donation box and stole the cash,” Deshmane said, adding that the amount of the cash recovered from him would be tallied with the temple officials’ version.The temple was commissioned by Jijamata, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, after she was informed that an idol of Ganapati had been found in the Kasba Peth area.
