Gujarat: In 2 days, 5 arrested for ‘theft, desecration’ at two temples

The accused locked the door of the pandit’s room, entered the temple, broke the protective glass, uprooted the approximately 50 kg statue from its base, rolled it outside and threw it down the mountain

By: Express News Service

Ahmedabad | Updated: October 15, 2025 05:12 AM IST

3 min read

(Left) Silver ornaments from Jain derasar in Ahmedabad; the two accused who ‘desecrated’an idol in Girnar (Express Photos)

Over the past two days, a total of five arrests have been made in connection with alleged crimes in two temples in Gujarat — one in Junagadh, the other in Ahmedabad.

Junagadh Police on October 13 arrested two persons – one of them a worker at the temple – for allegedly being among four unknown persons to have allegedly desecrated the statue of the deity at the Guru Gorakhnath Temple, located at a height of about 6,000 steps on Girnar mountain. The incident had taken place in the early hours of October 5. The accused locked the door of the pandit’s room, entered the temple, broke the protective glass, uprooted the approximately 50 kg statue from its base, rolled it outside and threw it down the mountain.

The accused were booked under BNS sections 298 (defiling a place of worship), 324(4) (mischief), 329(3) (criminal trespass) and 54 (abettor
present).

The Local Crime Branch (LCB) in Junagadh began investigating along with teams from the Special Operations Group (SOG) as well as local police.

The old stairs, new status, ropeway, base of the mountain were all investigated and CCTV footage from 156 spots were examined. More than 200 people working in the vicinity of the pilgrimage site and 72 groups of devotees were reportedly questioned.

After investigation, the police on October 13 arrested Ramesh Hargovind Bhatt (50), who owned a photo studio near the mountain, and Kishor Shivandas Kukreja (42), who worked at the temple as a sewak.

Junagadh City Division DySP Hitesh Dhandhaliya said the accused had likely committed the act of desecration for fame and said he committed the act “for more devotee footfall after the controversy”. The two were allegedly also stealing from the temple’s donation. Further investigation is underway.

Silver ornaments ‘worth Rs 1.64 cr’ stolen

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The Ahmedabad City Police on October 14 arrested a husband-wife duo and the priest of a Jain derasar for allegedly stealing Rs1.64 crore worth of silver vestments meant for two deities located in the Paldi area of the city.

Mehul Harisinh Rathod, and Kiran and Hetal Vaghri, were arrested by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) and Paldi police on Tuesday. According to the FIR filed by Paldi police based on a complaint by Rajesh Champaklal Shah, the Secretary of the Lakshmivardhak Jain Sangh, it was noticed the silver vestments of Shitalnath Bhagwan and Vasupujya Swami Bhagwan missing on October 8. On October 9, when CCTV footage was checked, the FIR stated Mehul Rathod was seen turning the CCTV switches off and then on hours later.

When inquired about his whereabouts, he appeared to be missing.

Similarly, Kiran and Hetal Vaghri, who worked at the temple and resided in an attached accommodation, were also found to be missing on October 9.

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Shah then filed the complaint at Paldi police station that nine pieces of silver vestments, weighing 117.336 kg worth over Rs 1,64 crore had been stolen.

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