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Two Shani Shingnapur temple staff held for diverting ₹50 lakh each through app
Ahilyanagar police cyber cell on Thursday arrested two Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust employees for allegedly diverting over ₹50 lakh each into their personal accounts by manipulating online applications used for booking pooja services
PUNE: The Ahilyanagar police cyber cell on Thursday arrested two Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust employees for allegedly diverting over ₹50 lakh each into their personal accounts by manipulating online applications used for booking pooja services.
The arrested are Sanjay Tulshiram Pawar, 38, a clerk, and Sachin Ashok Shete, 41, head of CCTV and security. Police said the duo worked at the temple for over a decade and exploited system loopholes to reroute payments made by devotees.
The trust had partnered with several mobile apps through which devotees could book poojas, receive prasad and get videos or photos of rituals. Investigators found that the accused shared their personal account details with app operators instead of the trust’s official bank account.
Somnath Gharge, superintendent of police, said the two were arrested for “siphoning off funds and duping devotees and the trust”. Cyber cell inspector Sagar Dhikale said the scam ran for about a year.
The accused were produced in court on Friday and remanded in police custody till December 8. Police have asked the temple trust to submit financial records and have identified four illegal apps linked to the scam. Notices have been issued to all app operators offering services in the name of the temple.
The case was earlier flagged by local politicians and raised in the state assembly, prompting chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to promise action. An FIR was registered on July 12 under Sections 318(4), 336(3), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the IT Act.
