Armed with swords, dacoits steal Rs 12 lakh from donation boxes at famous Vajreshwari temple

Mumbai: A group of armed assailants stole cash amounting to Rs 12 lakh from four donation boxes installed at the Vajreshwari temple in Bhiwandi district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Friday. The dacoits used swords and choppers to attack the security guard before fleeing with the loot. A case has been registered in this regard at the Ganeshpuri police station in Bhiwandi area of Thane.

Police officials familiar with the matter said that the incident took place at around 3 am when the dacoits subdued the security guard by tying his hands and legs. They broke open the donation boxes and fled the scene of the crime, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DCP) of Ganeshpuri division, DM Godbole. The DCP further added that five assailants entered the temple premises while the sixth one stood guard outside.

The matter was reported to the temple trustees by the security guard after the dacoits had fled in their vehicle. The trustees then approached the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Thane district rural, Sanjay Patil, who then rushed to the temple along with a team of police personnel and thoroughly examined the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) installed in and around the famous temple located about 80 kilometres from Mumbai city.

Investigating officials say that they are in the process of identifying the accused and a dog squad has also been deployed to check the crime scene for any clues. ASP Sanjay Patil told media outlets that a search operation has been launched to nab the culprits. Meanwhile, all of the gates of the Vajreshwari temple have been closed for the time being and will open only after the probe is concluded. People from across the country flock to the temple, primarily because of its famous hot water springs.

In May of this year, Pune Police recovered a golden dome which was stolen from the Ekvira Devi Temple near Karla in Lonavala in October of 2017. Police had arrested two accused who were both residents of Dhamangaon village in Ahmednagar, not far from the Karla. They had hid the dome in the forests behind the temple which is where it was recovered from. Reports at the time had asserted that the dome was valued at Rs 1,50,000.