MAPUSA
Four robbers stole cash of about Rs 10-12 lakh from the famous Shri Dev Bodgeshwar temple in Mapusa, after confronting and tying the security guard in the wee hours of Monday.
According to reports, the robbery is believed to have taken place sometime between 2.05 am and 2.38 am, when the robbers entered the temple premises from the rear side of the temple.
A security guard, Dashrath Thakur (61), was asleep near the idol of Sri Satyanarayana behind the idol of Dev Bodgeshwar.
Armed with a knife, the robbers threatened to kill him if he were to raise an alarm and removed his shirt, before tying him to a chair.
The robbers then broke open two main donation boxes in front and back of the idol with the help of iron cutters and screws. They tried to break open a third donation box, but did not succeed.
The robbers then filled the cash of about Rs 10-12 lakh in three sacks and fled from the temple. Two of the four robbers were wearing jackets.
On receiving information about the robbery, the temple committee president Anand Bhaidkar, secretary Adv. Vaman Pandit, Devesh Shinde, Sushant Gavas, Pandurang Varadkar, Rajendra Pednekar rushed to the spot and inspected the area.
The police was notified and DySP Sandesh Chodankar, Police Inspector Nikhil Palekar, PSI Babalo Parab and a team visited the spot and conducted the panchnama.
All CCTV cameras in the temple captured the suspects committing the robbery.
But due to the low resolution of CCTV cameras, the faces of the robbers were blurred.
Acting on a complaint of the security guard, Mapusa police have registered a case under Section 380 of IPC against the unknown robbers and police are conducting further investigations.
