A man was beaten to death in the northern Indian city of Amritsar after he allegedly attempted to do a sacrilegious act within the ancient Golden Temple, which is considered to be one of the most treasured temples in the Sikh religion.

According to reports in the media, the event occurred on Saturday evening at the daily evening prayer when the guy leaped over a railing inside the inner sanctum and attempted to steal a sword that was stored near the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, according to the media.

People inside the temple rushed to stop him, according to a CCTV video.

Police said to New Delhi Television that the guy was murdered as a result of the encounter and that they were reviewing surveillance footage to try to learn more about what happened.

"The guy, who was between the ages of 20 and 25, was wearing a yellow scarf tied over his head when he leaped the fence... Parminder Singh Bandal, the deputy commissioner of Amritsar police, told the station that the individuals inside the building "had him in handcuffs and led him out to the corridor where there was a violent conflict and he died."

The event was fiercely criticized by the chief minister of Punjab state, where Amritsar is located, who described it as the most "unfortunate and terrible act to try sacrilege," according to a tweet from his office late on Saturday.