19-year-old duo would run to Shirdi Sai Baba temple to cleanse sins and donate money
(From left) Rohit Khandagle and Aditya Prasad, the accused. Pics/By Special Arrangement
The Kalachowkie police have arrested two within 24 hours of an alleged burglary being committed, revealing that the accused had a peculiar modus operandi — they would take shelter at the Shirdi Sai Baba temple after committing theft and donate a portion of the stolen money as offerings.
The crime occurred between 2 am and 7.30 am on December 8 at Nirankar General Store at Ram Tekdi, Sewri. The complainant, Shyamsundar Sewalal Gupta, 55, had closed his grocery shop at around 11.30 pm and left for home. When he returned at about 7.30 am the next morning, he found that unknown persons had lifted the shop shutter from one side and stolen Rs 33,000 in cash kept in the drawers.
The shopkeeper informed the Kalachowie police and registered an FIR against an unknown person under Sections 303(2) and 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. A police officer said, “During the investigation, PSI Amit Bhosale and his team carried out an extensive technical analysis. Police Constable Chavan scrutinised footage from 50 to 70 CCTV cameras within a 500-metre radius of the crime scene, in which two suspects were captured roaming the area. The duo was subsequently identified.”
Police investigations further revealed that after committing theft, the accused would routinely travel to Shirdi as they believed that seeking refuge at the sacred space would help them evade suspicion and bring them “good fortune”. On December 9, the police laid a trap near the Sai Sansthan Bhavan canteen area and apprehended both accused while they were taking prasad. Police Constable Khandekar, who was already present in Shirdi, caught both of them. The arrested accused have been identified as Rohit Mallesh Khandagle and Aditya Ramesh Prasad, both 19 and residents of Parel.
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