Thieves break into temple, pray before deity, then flee with donation boxes

The thieves first offered prayers before the deity, then looted four donation boxes for cash and fled, taking another donation box along with them.

Multiple donation boxes at a renowned temple in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district were stolen by masked thieves who broke into the premises and fled with the cash, police said on Friday. What made the theft particularly unusual was that the suspects were seen offering prayers before the deity moments before committing the crime.

According to police, the incident came to light early on Friday morning when a temple attendant arrived around 5 am to open the Ateriya Mata Temple in Rudrapur. During his routine inspection, he noticed that several donation boxes were missing from their designated spots, while the locks of others had been broken.

He immediately informed temple vice-president Pankaj Gaur and temple manager Arvind Sharma, following which the police were alerted.

Police teams soon reached the spot, and CCTV footage revealed a striking sequence: before committing the theft, one of the suspects bowed his head and folded his hands before the idol of the goddess, then lifted a donation box and fled. The visuals have since gone viral.

According to senior police officer Daulat Ram Arya, five donation boxes were targeted in the theft. Two suspects are visible in the CCTV footage, but both had covered their faces with cloth, making identification difficult.

Police are examining multiple angles to identify and arrest the accused and expressed confidence that they will be caught soon, the officer said.