Maharashtra: In a bizarre incident in Maharashtra's Nagpur, two men were caught on camera folding their hands and holding their ears to apologise to a deity, just moments before breaking open a donation box, sweeping out the cash, and fleeing.
The incident occurred at the Sheetla Devi Temple at around 2:20 AM on July 28.
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Caught On Camera: Thieves Apologise To Deity Before Stealing Cash
CCTV footage from the temple shows two men inside the premises. While one of them is seen holding his ears in an apparent apology before the deity, his accomplice tries to open the lock of the donation box. Following the gesture, the first man kept watch on the surroundings while the second broke open the box. The duo then emptied the cash into a bag and fled the scene.
When The Incident Came To Light?
The theft came to light several hours later when temple authorities arrived and found the locks broken. According to temple priest Jitendra Pandey, a review of the CCTV footage subsequently confirmed the presence of the two unidentified men inside the temple.
"At around 8 am, when we came to the temple, we found the locks broken. We then checked the CCTV footage and saw two unidentified men. After that, we went to the police station. Officials from the police station also came to the Sheetla Mata Temple and checked the footage," NDTV quoted the temple priest as saying.
Temple Targeted For Third Time In A Year
According to Pandey, the temple has been repeatedly targeted over the past year, with this marking the third such theft at the shrine. In earlier incidents, thieves had similarly stolen the donation box and the deities' valuables.
"The thefts have been continuing for the last year. This is the third such incident. Earlier, when CCTV cameras had not been installed, the mangalsutras worn by both deities, which also contained gold, were stolen. During the second incident, the donation box was broken open. This time again, the donation boxes of both temples have been broken into," he said.
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.