Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Amid the crowd at Khandoba Temple in Satara on Sunday, thieves created havoc. In just three hours, they stole mangalsutras from eight women and several devotees’ silver earrings and chains. Satara police arrested the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, Sima Kale and Kavita Kale. However, before their arrest, their gang had already disposed of all the stolen jwellery.
The temple saw a massive crowd due to the yatra. Since November 30 was a holiday, thousands of devotees had arrived from different districts. Just four days earlier, some women had their gold chains stolen. On this background, Satara police had planned to catch the thieves from the morning. But the women thieves outsmarted the police. Between 2 pm and 5 pm, mangalsutras belonging to eight women and children were stolen. When other women realized, chaos ensued, prompting police action. By then, jwellery worth around 4–5 tolas had been stolen. Based on Durga Sharma’s complaint, a joint case was filed regarding the theft of gold chains from eight to nine women.
----------------
Even after being previously apprehended, looted again on Sunday
The loot caused panic among devotees, and police took action with public help, arresting Sima Kale and Kavita Kale, who both reside in Mukundwadi. Their gang was active during the yatra. However, before police could arrest them, their gang had already fled with the stolen jewelry. Police said Sima was nine months pregnant, so she was released on notice. Notably, Kavita had been previously caught as a suspect in the same yatra by Satara police but still committed theft again on Sunday posing as a devotee.