Siddhivinayak Temple Donation Theft Row Sparks Political Slugfest; Trust Chief Sada Sarvankar Alleges Accused Linked To Shiv Sena UBT

Mumbai: A political row has erupted in Maharashtra over the alleged donation theft at Mumbai's iconic Siddhivinayak Temple, with Siddhivinayak Temple Trust President and Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar alleging that the employees arrested in the case have links to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena UBT.

The controversy comes days after MNS chief Raj Thackeray wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, alleging that Rs 18 crores were being siphoned off from the temple's donation collections. Addressing a press conference on Monday, Sarvankar acknowledged that a theft had indeed taken place but stated that it was the temple trust itself that detected the irregularities and initiated action.

Trust Approached Senior Cop Vishwas Nangre Patil

According to Sarvankar, after the trust noticed discrepancies in the temple's donation collections, it immediately approached senior police officer Vishwas Nangre Patil. Acting on CCTV footage and the police investigation, authorities arrested several temple employees, including Rajan Pendurkar and Ghadigaonkar, for their alleged involvement in the theft.

"So far, the temple employees who were detained by the police on the basis of allegations were first given police custody and then jail custody. Eight people were detained by the police and were given three days of police custody. After police custody, they were granted bail, including Naresh Khade," Sarvankar said.

Accused Linked To Sena UBT, Claims Sarvankar

The Shinde Sena leader further claimed that the key accused had been appointed during the tenure of former Mumbai Mayor Vishakha Raut and alleged that they were regular visitors to local Shiv Sena UBT party offices. He alleged that the accused maintained close links with leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray faction.

Sarvankar also said the trust's timely intervention helped expose and dismantle the alleged theft racket. He claimed that daily donation collections at the temple have increased since action was taken against the accused and demanded an audit of the post-crackdown collections to establish the impact of the action.

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