Four cash boxes kept at Ram Darbar Mandir at Kitchlu Nagar of Ludhiana were broken open by a thief who entered and left the premises through ventilators around 2 am on Saturday.Ironically, he prayed before the idols and begged for pardon before committing the crime, as per CCTV footage analysis.Though the exact loss suffered by the temple management is yet to be ascertained, office-bearers, led by president Parkash Chand Sharma, said that an amount between Rs 35,000-40,000 was estimated to have been taken away by the miscreant.The police reached the temple soon after receiving information around 5 am. They examined footage of CCTV cameras installed in the area to track the movement of the accused.According to Sharma, a miscreant wearing a mask entered the main hall of the temple through a ventilator at 2 am and  left the premises after stealing cash from four donation boxes at 2.43 am.The theft was first noticed by preacher Gopal Krishan in the morning. Two other sevadars, who slept on the temple premises, said they did not notice any unusual activity till morning.