Five burglars broke into the renowned Vajreshwari temple at Ganeshpuri, 80km from Mumbai early on Friday and decamped with cash worth Rs 7.90 lakh from the temple’s donation boxes. While a security guard said the burglars had assaulted him and tied him up before escaping with the cash, police said the CCTV footages from the temple did not show an assault.

The police are yet to arrest anyone in connection with the case, but a case has been registered under section 395 (Dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They are questioning Kathod Laxman Kore, 52, the security guard who was on duty.

The incident took place a few days after ‘Vajreswarichi Yatra’, a three-day annual fair of the temple that saw lakhs of visitors throng the temple from Thane, Palghar and Mumbai. The temple trustee collects the money from the boxes every two months.

Anita Gosavi, 50, hereditary trustee of the temple, said,”We were asleep when the guard came to us around 3.30am and said he was attacked by five robbers and they had tied up his hands and legs. However, we did not see any assault mark on the guard’s body, who has been working for us for the past 20 years.”

Parshuram Londe, Ganeshpuri police station in-charge, said, “There is no footage showing the guard being assaulted. The footages show the robbers barging into the shrine with their face hidden with a cloth. But we have recorded the guard’s statement and are probing all angles.”

First Published: May 11, 2019 03:14 IST