Balumama temple at Adamapur
Police now suspect the alleged fraud could run up to Rs 60.8 crore. The five arrested men are Bhishma Patil (36), Sagar Shinde (42) and Prakash Mangle (57), all from Murgud in Kagal taluka; Ranjitsinh Suryavanshi (52) of Nidhori in Kagal; and Tanmay Bachankar (27) of Adamapur. Deputy superintendent of police Suvarna Patki said, “The investigation is underway into the sale of sheep and land purchase and sale transactions between March 2020 and March 2026.
Police said the five were arrested after their names surfaced during scrutiny of documents linked to land transactions. The documents, related records and financial transactions in the land transaction are being examined. We are checking if more people or transactions come to light through the interrogation of the arrested people.”
Kolhapur: The Special Investigation Team probing alleged financial irregularities at the Sant Sadguru Balumama Devasthan Trust in Adamapur arrested five people late on Wednesday night over questionable land transactions.
The alleged irregularities involve the trust’s purchase and sale of land as well as transactions related to its sheep and goats. After the investigation was transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), a Special Investigation Team (SIT) began scrutinising the trust’s transactions and financial records.