Patna, Dec. 21: Be it Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar or tennis star Sania Mirza, offering prayers after achieving something substantial is common among Indian players. Crooks are no different.

Overwhelmed by the booty, a few thieves prayed to god following a break-in at the Belwarganj area. They offered aarti at the house they looted.

Punching holes in the cops’ claim of intensive patrolling, the thieves decamped with jewellery and cash worth Rs 5 lakh from the residence of railway employee Pramod Kumar Gupta some time between Friday and Tuesday morning. Neither he nor any of his family members were at home during the loot under the jurisdiction of Alamganj police station. They were on a tour to Puri and Calcutta.

Asha Devi, the wife of Pramod, told The Telegraph: “We went on a trip to Puri and Calcutta on Friday and came back on Tuesday evening. But we could not enter our home because neither of the two doors opened. The thieves tried to break open the locks on the both. When we tried to open the front door, the keys did not fit in them. Then we tried to open the second entrance but found the situation was just the same. We doubted something had happened. We peeped into the house through cracks and saw the rooms were in a mess. The thieves climbed on to the roof of the house, broke the lock of an iron door and entered the house.”

Once inside, the thieves broke open at least three trunks and found a lot of jewellery besides Rs 50,000. Elated, they offered puja to the pictures of gods and goddesses at Pramod’s home.

Asha, a schoolteacher, said: “There were some half-burnt incense sticks at the puja area of the house. The paraphernalia used for offering aarti also had some burnt remains of incense blocks. They, I think, prayed to gods during the act.”

The thieves allegedly cooked something during the operation. Asha said: “The oven in my kitchen was switched on. I can say this because I know my kitchen inside out. Several things were not in the right place.”

A visibly shocked Asha said: “All my property is gone. The police, other than lodging an FIR, have done nothing. What were the police doing? They are supposedly conducting round-the-clock patrolling. Yet, thieves are striking at will.”

Admitting that the theft at Asha’s home was unfortunate, Alamganj police station personnel said investigation into the theft was on. They expect a breakthrough soon.

“The matter is being investigated and the police are working hard to crack the case,” an officer posted at the Alamganj police station told The Telegraph.

Thieves have been striking at will following the dip in the temperature in the city. The men in uniform appear to be clueless about the crooks.

A few thieves barged into a temple at the Kazibagh area under Alamganj police station in small hours on Monday and fled with more than 10 idols.

On Saturday night, thieves barged into shops located at Ashiana and Gurhatta areas under Shastri Nagar and Khajekala police station, respectively, and fled with cash and valuables worth Rs 70, 000.

On December 16, thieves looted at least four shops and some people in Kadamkuan and Gandhi Maidan police station areas.

Last week, the police had introduced foot patrolling between Patna City and Danapur. Two cops were responsible for manning a kilometre. But the move to keep crooks at bay hardly worked. They struck at will.