Thief breaks into Pune’s Kasba Ganpati temple, escapes with Rs 60,000 from donation box

PUNE: An unidentified thief broke into Pune’s ‘gramdevata’ Kasba Ganpati temple in the early hours of Tuesday and decamped with around Rs 60,000 in cash after prying open a donation box, police said.The theft was captured on the temple’s CCTV cameras, news agency PTI reported.Police have formed three teams to track down the culprit who struck after midnight at the 19th-century shrine in Kasba Peth.Kasba Ganpati is considered the presiding deity of Pune.Deputy commissioner of police Krushikesh Rawale said the thief broke open the donation box and escaped with Rs 60,000 in cash.Police are trying to identify the accused based on the CCTV footage and ascertain the direction in which he fled after the theft, the official said.A case is being registered at Faraskhana police station.(With agency inputs)