Precious items offered by devotees at the Saibaba temple here will be put on auction this week. These include gold and silver crowns, statuettes, garlands, ‘padukas’ [sandals], necklaces, diamonds and precious stones.Saibaba, Maharashtra’s most famous saint, lived and preached in this small town in Ahmednagar district over a century ago. The auction -- the third in the last 10 years -- will include 32-kg silver offerings, 18-kg gold offerings, 52 precious stones and articles studded with them, a Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust [SSST] spokesperson said. The auction’s first phase will start 18 Oct. The auction will continue for two more Thursdays next month. This is the first auction of the temple riches after a committee appointed by the Bombay High Court took over the SSST management in March.