Miscreants allegedly set fire to the entrance door of an Ayyanar temple in Nadiyapattu village near Virudhachalam in Cuddalore district and stole two donation boxes containing offerings.
The theft came to light on Wednesday morning when residents noticed smoke billowing from the temple. They rushed inside and found the entrance door on fire.
The residents immediately doused the flames with water before checking the premises, where they discovered that two donation boxes were missing.
A subsequent search revealed that the stolen boxes had been abandoned in a nearby cashew grove. The miscreants are suspected to have taken the boxes there, removed the cash and fled.The temple's consecration ceremony was held just 25 days ago.
Residents estimate that the two donation boxes could have contained around ₹2 lakh in offerings collected since the ceremony.
Following information about the incident, police from the Aladi police station visited the temple and launched an investigation. The police are working to identify those involved in the theft.
