THANE: A century-old Krishna temple in the busy Jambhli market area in the heart of Thane was burgled of cash, gold and silver totally worth around Rs 38 lakh on the eve of Janmashtami. The Thane police swung into action immediately after the burglary came to light on Sunday morning and managed to nab five burglars by evening and recovered the stolen articlesin time for the Krishna Janmashtami celebrations.Police said the Shri Gowardhan Nath ni Haveli, which is very popular among the Gujarati as well as the Marwadi community members, attracts thousands of devotees on Janmashtami.The incident has triggered a fear among the local business community as the market has several jewellery shops. Residents of the neighbourhood alleged scant vigil by police at night in spite of the area having a market.Narrating the incident, a police officer said the temple’s caretakers had taken all the jewellery out on Saturday to prepare for the Janmashtami celebrations. After completing the work for the day, the caretakers, Paresh Pandit and his wife Meena who live nearby, left around 10.30 pm on Saturday.The next morning, when the couple opened the temple door around 7.30 am, they found the gold and silver jewellery missing and everything else lying scattered. They also found the temple’s rear door broken open.The couple alerted the police. Though the temple had installed CCTV cameras, the investigators found that the system was damaged and its wires snapped by the burglars. Before the case was cracked, a senior police officer said the robbery seemed to have been meticulously planned. The officer said the gang had fled with 900 grams gold worth Rs 22.5 lakh, 20 kgs silver worth Rs 7 lakh and Rs 9 lakh cash— totally Rs 38.5 lakh.The Thane Nagar police and the crime branch started parallel investigations. Within 12 hours, the police cracked the case and arrested five burglars, said Vivek Phansalkar, Thane police commissioner, adding that the investigators have recovered all the stolen articles. Asked about how the gang was busted, the police commissioner refused to divulge more details.As the burglary took place in a busy market area on a festival weekend, a police officer said they were probing whether the gang had any more associates and if it got any help from any local.

Stay updated with all the Latest Thane headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.