Shani Shingnapur temple trust office bearer found dead at home, suicide suspected

Superintendent of Police of Ahilyanagar District, Somnath Gharge said, “The incident came to light on Monday morning when Shete’s family members did not get any response from him. They broke open the door of the room and found him dead. He was pronounced dead by doctors upon being taken to hospital. Prima facie this is a case of suicide. No note has been found. We have registered a case of death pending probe into the causes and sequence leading to it.”

Earlier this month, Chief Minister Fadnavis had ordered a criminal investigation into allegations of financial misappropriation through a fake phone based application which collected funds on the pretext of donations for the Darshan of the temple deity. When asked about the probe into the corruption charges, a senior officer said, “A case has been registered in the case of a fake application. But we had not questioned Shete in connection to the investigation, nor his name had come up in the probe.”

During the monsoon session of the state legislature, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had informed the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly of a massive scam involving the trust. A report submitted by the charity commissioner flagged widespread irregularities, including the presence of over 2,400 ghost employees, inflated payrolls, and fraudulent donation apps used to siphon funds into private accounts.

Departments, including the trust hospital, bhakt niwas, parking, and sanitation, were reportedly affected, with large discrepancies between official employee figures and those physically verified on site. The Chief Minister had stated that the trustees will be booked under criminal charges and external agencies roped in for a comprehensive audit. He added that assets of those involved will be scrutinised. The issue was raised in the Assembly by MLA Vithhal Langhe and supported by MLA Suresh Dhas. Fadnavis assured the House that no one involved in the alleged wrongdoing would be spared.