Pune: Duo held for stealing ‘gold’ kalash of Ekvira Devi temple in Lonavla

PUNE: Not everything one hears is true and two men learned it the hard way.
Rahul Bhagwat Gawande (24) and Somnath Ashok Gawande (24) of Awari village in Ahmednagar district were climbing the steps of Ekvira Devi temple in Lonavla when they heard a song dedicated to the temple deity. The song stated that the kalash (urn) in the temple was made of gold. Ekvira Devi, incidentally, is the family deity of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackarey.
Tempted by the song, they stole the 2.5kg kalash on the night of October 3, 2017. However, they soon realized that the kalash was not made of gold, as described in the song, and landed in police net on Tuesday after their several failed attempts to sell it off.
“Soon after the incident came to light, we registered a case of theft in this regard and made all possible attempts to solve it. After the case was discussed in the Mantralaya, it was handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further probe,” an officer of the Lonavla (rural) police said.
Superintendent of police Sandip Patil said a team comprising inspector Padmakar Ghanwat and sub-inspector Jeevan Rajguru, among others, nabbed the suspects following a tip-off. They informed the police about hiding the kalash in the forest area of Shirota dam (on Indrayani river) behind the hill, which houses Karla caves.
“The kalash is made of panchadhatu (five metals) and has gold plating on it,” Patil said, adding that two men were involved in the house break-in thefts registered with Sangamner and other police stations in Ahmednagar district.
The temple authorities were renovating the temple and a ladder was available at the site. “The two committed the theft using the ladder,” he said.