The Kalyan and Ulhasnagar police are on the lookout for a gang that targets temples and robs donation boxes. Four such incidents have taken place in the last 15 days in the Ulhasnagar and Kalyan areas. One of the thefts has been captured on a close circuit television camera (CCTV), in which three thieves can be seen running away with the donation box from the Tulaja Bhavani Mandir in Chinchpada.
Janardhan Mhatre, corporator and resident of Chinchpada, said the robbery had happened two days ago and the faces of the three thieves had been recorded in the CCTV camera installed at the mandir. He said, “We have given the footage to the police, yet no arrests have been made in the case. Residents have decided if the thieves are not arrested within a week, they would take out an agitation against the police.” Nilesh Kolvekar, a resident, said two temples – Saibaba Mandir and Ganpati Mandir at Tisgoan were robbed on the same day.
PI Chandrakant Deshmukh, Vithalwadi police station, said, “The incident took place three days ago, yet nobody came to register the case. So, the police had to visit the place and ask people to lodge a case. On Friday afternoon, an FIR was lodged and we got hold of CCTV footage. Our teams are now working on this case and on another robbery at the Balaji Mandir.”