The incident took place yesterday when the accused man, an egg-seller in Diva in the district, and his 14-year-old son had come to Kopari, Thane police PRO Gajanan Kadbule said.
They entered the temple there and stole cash from the donation box, he said.
However, when they tried to escape, the people present in the temple caught and handed them over to the police, the officer said.
The police recovered currency notes worth Rs 5,000 and coins worth about Rs 2,000 from them, he said.
A case under section 380 (theft in dwelling house) of the IPC has been registered and investigation is on, police said.
The man was produced in a court here today which remanded him in judicial custody till February 10.
