11 former members of Sangli temple committee booked for misappropriation of deity’s jewellery worth Rs 17.5 lakh

Kolhapur: The Sangli police have booked 11 elderly former temple panel members for allegedly refusing to hand over the deity’s gold jewellery, worth Rs 17.5 lakh, to the new committee, remaining “adamant” despite repeated meetings, in a misappropriation case registered in Jat tehsil.The case was registered on Friday at the Umadi police station on a complaint by Mahadev Dinde, the Paschim Maharashtra Devasthan Samiti (PMDS) secretary in-charge, under sections 314 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).The accused, all members of a sub-committee appointed for temple management, allegedly failed to hand over the deity’s jewellery to the new panel after their tenure ended.

“The sub-committee functions for five years. The members are villagers who are elected by calling a special gram sabha. This panel must hand over the charge to the new panel after the end of its tenure. Along with the charge, they must ensure that all the deity’s belongings, including ornaments, are transferred to the new panel.

The 11 members did not do that for two years. We had several rounds of meetings with them, but they have been adamant.

The deity’s belongings cannot be kept in private custody,” Dinde said.The temple of Allam Prabhu in Balgaon village, built by the erstwhile royal family of Jat, is over 200 years old and falls under the PMDS, which manages around 3,000 temples. As per procedure, a panel of local residents is appointed every five years to manage it.Officials said the jewellery, including gold necklaces, were last valued in 2016, but were missing since a new committee took charge in 2024.

Despite repeated meetings and follow-ups, the jewellery items were not returned, prompting the PMDS to approach the police.The police have begun the probe and issued notices to all accused. “All the accused are elderly people aged 70 years or more. We have issued notices, informing them about the crime registered against them and have sought reply. We are investigating the case,” said assistant inspector Sandip Kamble, of the Umadi police station.