Ganpati prasad leaves mandal Malamaal

5-ft gold necklace in a bag found abandoned at idol's feet

5-ft gold necklace in a bag found abandoned at idol's feet

Post 26/11, Mumbaikars press the panic button the minute they find an abandoned bag.
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It wasn't any different for members of the Lokmanya Tilak Market Ganpati Mandal at Grant Road yesterday, when an unidentified woman abandoned a bag at the feet of the Ganesh idol.

Worried that the bag contained a bomb or something suspicious, mandal members worriedly opened it only to find a five-foot gold necklace inside a plastic box.

Windfall: Members of Lokmanya Tilak Market Ganpati Mandal will test the gold necklace for the hallmark.

The mandal is now trying to ascertain whether the necklace is actually made from gold. "We are trying to get details about the quality and the quantity of gold used for the necklace.

I don't think it's cheap imitation because nobody will play mischief when it is a matter of faith," said Suren Ghosalkar, president of the mandal.

Something fishy

The woman raised suspicion when she entered the mandal with a polythene bag and left it after offering her blessings to Ganpati.

Volunteers questioned her when she was about to leave the mandal. "She was a bit hesitant when everyone surrounded her.

After a while, she told us the bag contained prasad and that it should be distributed after the evening aarti," said Pravin Dixit, secretary of the mandal.