PATHANAMTHITTA: In an untoward robbery story, thieves entered the church, finished the wine preserved in the cupboard, and later robbed all money from the donation box. Not stopping here, the robbers traveled to a nearby school and seized one laptop.

The strange theft took place at Omallur St. Stephen's CSI Church and nearby CMS LP School. After finishing almost 2 bottles of wine, the thieves threw away the leftover drinks and porotta in the courtyard of the church.

The incident came to light at 7 am on Sunday morning as people who reached the church for prayers noticed the ramshackle state of the courtyards and felt suspicious. The grill of the church was cut with a hacksaw blade. The lock of the main door was cut with a cutting machine. The money was stolen from the donation box by breaking the lock.

The lock was found abandoned under a nearby coconut tree and the blade was in the verandah. The donation box was last opened in 2022 and the church authorities are unsure about the exact money that got robbed.

The investigation conducted by the forensic department suspects the involvement of more than one person in the theft. The theft is believed to have taken place on Saturday night. As part of the police investigation, the worship proceedings were moved to the nearby CMS LP school. When the devotees entered the school, the laptop was found missing and the place was disorderly kept. The accused could not be identified as there were no CCTV cameras in the church and the school.

Two years before, a gang robbed the donation box money from the same church. The police are yet to solve that case.