An unidentified thief broke into a church in Mumbai's Santacruz area and decamped with cash from three donation boxes and other materials kept in the premises in the early hours of Tuesday, the police said.
According to a Vakola police Station official, the thief broke open the rear door of the church located in the Kalina-Yogiraj Ashram locality go gain entry into the place of worship.
The burglar broke open all three major donation boxes kept in the church and fled with the cash and other materials, the official said.
The area surrounding the church is largely empty due to an ongoing Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project and no one was present inside the shrine when the theft took place, he stated.
The church is generally open only for Sunday prayers, and the cash in the donation boxes had not been removed for a long time for counting and hence the exact value of the stolen money was not known, the official maintained.
The incident came to light when a local resident noticed that the rear gate of the church was open.
The resident informed members of the church committee, who reached the spot and found that cash from the donation boxes and other materials were missing.
The committee members subsequently informed the police. -- PTI
