Kasba Ganpati Temple Theft: Man Held Within 8 Hours After CCTV Trail Leads Pune Police To Suspect

Pune: Faraskhana Police arrested a 29-year-old man within eight hours of the theft of around ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 from donation boxes at the historic Shri Kasba Ganpati Temple in Pune. The suspect has been identified as Sangram Rajendra Shinde, a resident of Gadhinglaj in Kolhapur district.

The theft took place between 11.30 pm on Oct 5 and 5.20 am on Oct 6. According to police, Shinde allegedly entered the temple premises, broke the latch of the sanctum sanctorum and used an iron rod to break open multiple donation boxes. The theft was reported on Tuesday morning, following which Faraskhana Police launched an investigation.

CCTV trail helps police trace suspect

Police teams examined CCTV footage from the temple and roads leading to and from the Kasba Ganpati Temple.

Investigators tracked the movements of people seen in the area around the time of the theft. Based on the CCTV analysis and subsequent investigation, police detained Shinde.

During questioning, police said he confessed to committing the theft. He was subsequently arrested in connection with the case.

Shinde allegedly broke open one wooden donation box inside the sanctum, two wooden donation boxes outside the main sanctum and a tin donation box near the Maruti Temple.

A case has been registered at Faraskhana Police Station under Crime Register No 347/2026 under Sections 305(d) and 324(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police investigate temple security

The theft raised concerns over security at the historic temple, which is Pune's Gram Daivat and the first of the city's five Manache Ganpati.

Police are investigating the circumstances in which Shinde entered the temple and whether anyone else was involved.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police Rajesh Bansode, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 1 Krushikesh Rawale and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Faraskhana Division, Sachin Hire.

The investigation was led by Senior Police Inspector Sandip Deshmane, Police Inspector (Crime) Shivprakash Mule, Police Inspector (Crime) Rajesh Mahala and Police Sub-Inspectors Rajendra Patole and Pranil Chougule.

Police personnel Pravin Pasalkar, Mahesh Rathod, Sumit Khutte, Prashant Palande, Shrikant Waghwale, Vishal Shinde, Vishal Autee, Nitin Telange, Gajanan Sonune, Nitin Jadhav and Chetan Holkar were also part of the investigation team.