Man who fled with 51 gm gold necklace from Vasna Swaminarayan temple arrested

The Ahmedabad City Crime Branch has arrested a man accused of cheating the kothari of Vasna Swaminarayan temple by fleeing with a 51-gram gold necklace under the pretext of making a religious offering. Another accused in the case has been declared wanted, police said.

The arrested accused has been identified as Shaileshbhai Chhaganbhai Undhad (43), a resident of Galol village in Jetpur taluka of Rajkot district. His accomplice, Kalpesh alias Bhodi Vrajlal alias Vajubhai Vora, a resident of Bordi Samadhiyala village in the same taluka, is absconding and has been declared wanted.

The incident occurred on December 21, 2025, at the Swaminarayan Mandir, opposite the Vasna bus stand. The accused, posing under a false name, approached the temple authorities claiming that his daughter had secured admission to a government medical college and that he had vowed to offer a 51-gram gold necklace to the deity.

Gaining the trust of the temple kothari, the accused allegedly handed over a cheque of ₹6.51 lakh towards the payment for the gold ornament. On December 21, after taking possession of the gold necklace and a pair of earrings on the pretext of showing them to his wife, the accused fled the temple premises and did not return.

Following a complaint lodged by the temple kothari at Vasna Police Station, the Crime Branch launched an investigation and traced the accused. Police said they have recovered valuables worth ₹6.47 lakh, including a gold necklace, earrings, a mobile phone and a two-wheeler, from Shailesh Undhad.

Investigators revealed that the accused has a long criminal history, with multiple cases of cheating and breach of trust registered against him at police stations in Rajkot, Surat, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Bhuj and Mehsana, among other cities.

“Modus operandi suggests that the accused targeted Swaminarayan temples across the state, posing as devout followers and exploiting the trust of temple management to cheat them of valuable jewellery,” a senior Crime Branch officer said.

The accused has been handed over to Vasna police for further investigation, while efforts are on to trace and arrest the absconding co-accused.