In what is a break from regular thefts and involved no cash, almost a quintal worth of mouthwatering delicacies was stolen from three sweet shops from a village in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday evening, police said on Monday.

Incidentally, a quintal is roughly the equivalent of 100 kilograms, which by any measure is a lot to carry for anyone. There is no easy estimate as to how much the stolen goods cost, but it goes without saying that this is the least of the shopkeepers' worries. Arguably, it wasn't the sweetest of starts to their mornings. Or their week for that matter.

The incident took place in on Sunday evening at Tarkulawan police station area in Deoria district and the stolen delicacies included Gulab Jamun, Rajbhog, Rasgulla, Barfi and Pedha. The thieves came in the dark and left without a trace, ants included.

Tarkulawan police station in-charge Shashank Shekhar Rai said, "The incident took place in Garhrampur village. The shopkeepers, Rajan Modanwal, Ramnath and Ramprakash, had closed their shops on Saturday night, and claimed that almost a quintal of sweets had been stolen. The shopkeepers came to know about the theft today in the morning."