Watch: Thieves Apologise To Deity Before Stealing Donation Box In Maharashtra

With folded hands and ears held in apparent apology before a deity, two men paused briefly inside a temple in Maharashtra's Nagpur district.

Moments later, they allegedly broke open a donation box, emptied the cash inside and fled.

The incident took place at the Sheetla Devi Temple on July 28 at around 2:20 am.

CCTV footage from the temple shows two men in the premises. While one of them is seen holding his ears before the deity, the other tries to open the lock of the donation box. After the gesture, the first man appears to keep watch on the surroundings as his accomplice continues trying to break open the box.

Once the donation box is opened, the accused are seen removing the cash kept inside. They then place the money in a bag before fleeing the spot.

The theft came to light several hours later when temple authorities arrived and found the locks broken. According to temple priest Jitendra Pandey, CCTV footage subsequently revealed the presence of 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," he said.

Pandey said the latest theft is part of a series of incidents that have targeted the temple over the past year. He claimed this was the third such theft, with valuables from the deities and the donation box having been stolen in earlier incidents as well.

"The thefts have been continuing for the last one 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 launched an investigation into the matter and further details are awaited.