THOOTHUKUDI: The police have arrested two persons, including a 74-year-old priest of Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple in Thiruchendur, for allegedly stealing money from the temple hundis. While the priest was released on his own bond, the other accused was remanded in judicial custody.

The Thiruchendur Murugan Temple, one of the Arupadai Veedu (six abodes of Lord Murugan), is a prominent pilgrimage centre that attracts thousands of devotees every day. Hundis are found at several points on the premises, including the Shanmuga Vilasa Mandapam, the inner prakaram and near the copper flagstaff opposite the presiding deity.

According to police sources, temple officials found the collection from a permanent hundi opposite the presiding deity to be lower than usual. On examining the CCTV footage, they found that a temple priest, Murugan alias Mukundan (74), had allegedly been using pieces of cloth and paper to take money from the hundi, the police said.

A further check of the CCTV footage from other hundis showed that another person had allegedly stolen money from the hundi near the copper flagstaff in a similar manner.

The temple administration then lodged a complaint. After examining the CCTV footage, the police arrested the priest and Thirumurugan (56) of Ariyankuppam in Puducherry on 19 October. During interrogation, the police found that around Rs 10,000 had been stolen from the hundi