LUDHIANA: A masked thief was captured on security footage folding his hands and praying for forgiveness before the deity’s idol prior to robbing a local temple early on Saturday.The break-in occurred around 2am at the Shri Ram Darbar Temple in Kitchlu Nagar. Temple head Prakash Chand Sharma said the intruder had spent 40 minutes on the premises after squeezing through a narrow skylight ventilation shaft to bypass the locked main doors.CCTV footage revealed that before breaking open the donation box and fleeing with the cash, the suspect had bowed deeply and gestured an apology toward the idol of Lord Ram.The theft went unnoticed until 5am, when temple priest Gopal Krishna discovered the damaged cash box and alerted management. Two people inside the complex at the time of the burglary reportedly slept through the entire incident.Police at the Kitchlu Nagar post have launched an investigation. They confirmed they received the temple’s formal complaint along with the security footage, which will help thm identify and trace the suspect.
