Puri, June 22:A theft has been reported at the Ram Mandir near Puri Railway Station ahead of the annual Rath Yatra. An unidentified miscreant allegedly broke open a temple hundi and fled with the cash collected from devotees.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed inside the temple. The footage shows a man entering the temple with his face covered and attempting to break open two steel hundis. He managed to open one of them and escaped with the money.

After receiving information, police from Sea Beach Police Station reached the temple and started an investigation. The temple management has handed over the CCTV footage to the police to help identify the accused.

Sources said a similar theft had taken place at the temple earlier. The latest incident has raised concerns over temple security as Rath Yatra approaches and thousands of devotees are expected to visit Puri.

Police are examining the CCTV footage and efforts are on to trace the accused.