The police on Friday arrested one person in connection with the Rs 6 lakh loot from famous Durgiana Temple in Amritsar on the Diwali eve. Cashier Vishal at the Durgiana Temple, was arrested for the alleged theft on?Friday.

Police have recovered around ?30 lakh from the accused.Police sources said that the accused was allegedly committing thefts at the temple from past four years with the help of two accomplices.

The theft came into force at around 6 am on Friday. It is learnt that the thieves had fled with Rs 2,000 currency notes worth Rs 6 lakh while they had left the denominations of Rs 500, Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 10 total worth around Rs 7 lakh, which were kept in a wooden almirah.

As per the CCTV footage procured by the police from the spot, the thieves struck at 9.30 pm as they covered the camera with a piece of cloth.

“We are still investigating the matter. It may be the work of one person or even more”, said inspector Shivdarshan Singh, SHO Civil Lines police station.

Police have also taken the finger print samples from the spot and said these will be matched with the prints of the suspects in the case.“The thief was in no hurry and was aware of the money in the almirah. Moreover a guard was seen in the footage checking the locks of the room before switching off the lights. He didn’t lock the side door from where the thieves entered the room. This is suspicious,” said a senior police official.

“Earlier, two more persons were seen dragging out boxes of crackers from the same room, in the footage. We are interrogating every suspicious person,” he added.

Ramesh Kumar, president of temple committee, said that the amount was earned from the sale of the prasad on Diwali. “We usually have earnings of over ?10 lakh during festivals as compared to around ?2 lakh in a day in routine. There were two packets of notes kept in the almirah but thieves fled with one.”

He said the cash was yet to be deposited by the staff in the strong room.