A thief, whose attempt to steal money from a Canara Bank branch in Noida on Sunday night was unsuccessful, wrote a moving letter to the bank.

After a thief failed to steal money from a Canara Bank in its Noida branch on Sunday night, he wrote a moving letter to the bank, apologising for the crime because he was poor and desperate.

In the letter, the thief explained how he had been forced into crime because he had recently lost his job and needed to provide for his family, which included three children.

"I lost my job in a private company. I have a family and children. It is very difficult to maintain family due to price rise and inflation. This was my first attempt to rob the bank and I failed," said the thief in the letter, according to a report in The Times of India.

Police said that the thief broke into the bank with sophisticated tools and instruments, including iron rod cutters, but failed to find the strongroom and the safe, according to the report.

Another Hindustan Times report quoted a senior police official saying, "Prima facie it seems like the thief entered from the door at the roof and then broke a window to flee. We have found a long rope tied from a window of the bank. The note he left has been confiscated for further investigation."

The police official also said that the note had been written by the thief after he failed to steal anything from the bank. The police are investigating the break-in and have confiscated the letter for further probe.