Sehore, April 20: A man allegedly stole Rs 6.74 lakh cash to marry a woman he loved but when she refused, he burnt Rs 5 lakh in anger, the police said here today.

Jitendra Goyal, a 22-year-old cashier in a finance company, was arrested yesterday for the theft, which reportedly took place on Wednesday, the police said.

Goyal had allegedly taken away Rs 6.74 lakh from the locker of the firm on April 18, said Niranjan Sharma, in- charge of the local Police Station. Once it came to the notice of the firm's manager, a police complaint was lodged, Sharma said.

Working on various leads, the police managed to track down Goyal in his native Harda district and yesterday arrested him, within 24 hours of the crime, the police officer said.

"During questioning, Goyal said that he took the money as he wanted to marry a woman he loved. However, when he contacted the woman, she refused his proposal as she was getting married to someone else," Sharma said.

Goyal, the officer said, was shocked and angry at the turn of events and allegedly set ablaze the currency of Rs 5 lakh, the burnt fragments of which Nasrullaganj police have been able to recover.

"He has told us that he planned to kill himself," Sharma said. "We have recovered burnt currency worth Rs 5 lakh, mostly in Rs 500 denomination, Rs 46,000 in cash and another Rs 1,28,000 from a cupboard," Sharma added.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered against Goyal and further investigations were underway, the officer said.