The Pune city police on Friday arrested a man for allegedly stealing a silver mask of goddess Yellamma from a temple in the Yerwada area—within four hours of the theft being reported.
The police identified the accused as Shivram Papa Kale, 47, a resident of Suraksha Nagar in Yerwada, adding that he has a criminal record.
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“The ‘crown’ of Goddess Yellamma was found missing from a temple in our jurisdiction on Friday. About 250 people from the transgender community, who are devotees of Yellamma Devi, gathered at the police station. They demanded the immediate arrest of the burglar and the recovery of the ‘crown’, which is considered very sacred by the community. The situation was tense…,” Senior Police Inspector Ravindra Kadam said.
A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at the Lakshmi Nagar police station, and a team led by Assistant Police Inspector Ravikant Nandanwar launched a probe.
“CCTV cameras at the crime scene were not working. So the investigation team checked videos captured by the CCTV cameras at different locations and got clues about the accused. Within four hours, we nabbed the accused Kale from the Lakshmi Nagar area. He had sold the ‘crown’ to a jeweller for just Rs 6,500. We recovered the ‘crown’, made of about 700 grams of silver, estimated at Rs 1.84 lakh,” said Kadam.
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The police said Kale is a history sheeter who has committed thefts in the past. The jeweller who allegedly purchased the stolen mask will also be arrested, the police added.
A photo of the silver Yellamma Devi mask recovered from the accused. (Express Photo) 
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