A donation box was stolen from the ancient Mata Sheetla Devi Temple in Lucknow’s Cantonment Sadar area, with CCTV footage capturing the entire incident in striking detail. The theft came to light when the temple priest noticed the donation box missing on Wednesday morning.br br According to the CCTV footage, the accused, entered the temple barefoot. He first carefully removed items placed on top of the donation box, including a bowl of vermilion, a burning lamp—ensuring it did not get extinguished—a matchbox, and a red cloth. He was then seen holding the donation box for around 15 seconds, appearing hesitant and wiping sweat from his face.br br Temple priest Pandit Pramod Kumar Pandey said the footage showed the thief in visible confusion. “He held the donation box for some time but could not gather the courage to lift it. He wiped his sweat, looked towards Hanumanji, and only then picked up the donation box,” the priest said. Before leaving, the accused turned back to take darshan and walked a few steps backwards, as if avoiding turning his back towards the deity.br br The incident took place at the ancient Sheetla Mata Temple located on Nehru Road. A written complaint has been filed at the Cantt police station, and the CCTV footage has been handed over to the police.br br Station in-charge Jasveer Kaur confirmed that a complaint has been registered and said efforts are underway to identify and trace the accused based on the CCTV footage.