Genuine devotee gives Sai fake shawl, maker in the dock

Though it first appeared that the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi had been duped of Rs25 lakh, it turned out that the donator had himself been taken for a ride by the maker of the diamond-and-gold-studded shawl he had placed at Baba's samadhi.
According Dr Eknath Gondkar, trustee of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, on June 12, a builder from Pune, RD Gaikwad, had donated a shawl studded with diamonds and gold at the samadhi of Sai Baba. The value of the shawl was declared as Rs25 lakh. Later, when the shawl was valued for documentation purpose, it turned out that the ornaments in the shawl were fake and that its total worth was barely Rs25,000.


The trust then contacted Gaikwad, who was shocked. According to Dr Gondkar, Gaikwad was unsettled on learning about the fraud, and said that he had no intention of cheating Sai Baba. He also assured that if such is the case, he will send Rs5 lakh to Shirdi immediately. It was found that Gaikwad, who had the shawl made in Pune, had been cheated by the shawl-maker, who studded fake jewels and gold into it.
On July 8, Gaikwad sent a demand draft of Rs25.25 lakh to the trust to make his intention clear. Gaikwad is said to have requested the trust to return the fake shawl so that he can file a complaint against its maker. The trust, which has received the DD, is yet to decide on whether to return the shawl.