Even after two days of continuous interrogation, the police has not been able to confirm or rule out if the seven robbers arrested in Aurangabad on Saturday were involved in the Dive Agar Suvarnaganesh temple robbery.
The seven accused — all repeat offenders with a history of armed robbery — were arrested for preparing for dacoity in Aurangabad’s Gangapur area on Saturday morning, and the Raigad police had sent a team to interrogate them. The team reached Aurangabad the same day and set about investigating if any of them were behind the violent robbery at the Suvarnaganesh temple, in which a watchman was killed, and a 400-year-old solid gold Ganesh idol was stolen.
However, the team was called back to Raigad on Monday after sustained questioning failed to yield results.
“We cannot say that the seven accused have been given a clean chit, as criminals seldom confess so quickly. We are in continuous touch with the Aurangabad police officers, who are still questioning them,” said Ashwini Sanap, sub-divisional police officer, Raigad police.
Meanwhile, the Raigad police has pulled out all stops to crack the case that sparked countrywide outrage. The team recalled from Aurangabad was dispatched to Pune, while a separate team was sent to Osmanabad, after fresh leads pointed to the two cities.
“We are currently working on some information pertaining to the case that spans Raigad, Pune and Osmanabad. The Pune Rural police’s crime branch too is working on the case in collaboration with us,” Mr Sanap said.