Over 1,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine that were stolen from a government hospital in Haryana's Jind district on Wednesday night were returned hours later by the unidentified thief with a note that stated that he did not know that these were coronavirus jabs.

A total of 1,270 doses of Covishield and 440 doses of Covaxin were stolen from the hospital, SHO of Civil Lines police station Rajender Singh said on Thursday.

The matter came to light after a sanitation worker of the hospital found the locks of the store and deep freezer broken on Thursday morning.

"The accused did not touch any other vaccine, medicine, cash, etc. in the store," Singh said.

Later, a man came on a motorcycle and left the vaccines at a tea stall outside the Civil Lines police station. He told people at the stall that the package contained food for a police official at the station, the officer said.

The thief also left a note in which he expressed regret over stealing the vaccines. He said that he did not know that these were COVID-19 vaccines, he added.

"It is possible that he wanted to steal some other vaccine or drug and returned what he had stolen after learning that it wasn't that," Singh said.

A case has been registered in connection with the incident, he said.

"We have got some clues and hope to make an arrest soon," he said.