Pune: In a shocking incident, a theft took place at the Ozhar based Vighnahar Ganpati Mandir, one of the major shrines of Ashtavinayak, on Monday during wee hours. The unidentified thieves have allegedly stolen one and a half kilogram silver-plated umbrella on the Ganpati's crown as well as Rs 1000 cash from the donation box.

Giving more information about this to Sakal Times, Shri Vighnahar Ganpati Devasthan Trust Chairman B V Mande alias Anna said that, "the temple had already kept all the gold ornaments of Ganpati in the bank locker before the lockdown as the precautionary measure since we knew the temple would be closed during the lockdown. We had taken this decision to be on the safer side, to avoid any chaos and security issues. Additionally, all the donation cash collected in the temple was also transferred to the trust banks accounts. The temple has been closed since March 17, this year."

Talking about the theft, he said, "A big financial disaster has been avoided in this case."

"As per the footage from the CCTV cameras, two unidentified persons were seen entering the temple along with iron rods. The incident took place on Monday wee hours around 2.15 am. We estimate that the valuable goods and the cash that has been stolen are amounting to Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000, including cash, has been stolen in the incident."

The temple falls under the jurisdiction of Pune rural police. The Sub-divisional police officer Deepali Khanna and Otur police station senior Inspector T Y Muzawar visited the spot and carried out an investigation. A case has been filed against two unidentified persons with Otur police station.