A masked burglar allegedly broke into a temple in Kitchlu Nagar during the early hours of Saturday and decamped with cash after breaking open the temple’s donation box. The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed inside the premises.CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A CCTV grab show the accused stealing the cash from the temple in Kitchlu Nagar, Ludhiana, on Saturday. (HT Photo)According to temple authorities, the accused entered Shri Ram Darbar temple around 2 am after squeezing through a ventilator adjacent to the building. Police said the accused had covered his face with a cloth in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.Temple head Prakash Chand Sharma said he received a call around 5 am from temple priest Gopal Krishna informing him about the theft.“When we reached the temple, the main locks were intact and initially nobody could understand how the theft had taken place. Later, CCTV footage revealed that the accused had entered through a ventilator,” Sharma said.The CCTV footage reportedly shows the accused remaining inside the temple premises for nearly 43 minutes. During this period, he allegedly broke open the donation box, collected the cash and fled before dawn.Temple authorities said the footage also showed the accused bowing before the idol of Lord Ram and folding his hands before committing the theft.Two persons who were sleeping inside the temple premises at the time of the incident told police that they did not hear any suspicious movement during the night.Police said an investigation has been launched and efforts are underway to identify the accused with the help of CCTV footage.