Meenakshi, Sundareswarar idols stolen from Tiruchy temple

TIRUCHY: Miscreants steal an idol of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar from HR&CE-governed Sri Venugopala Krishna temple at Bheema Nagar in Tiruchy, while an attempt was made to lift the Amman idol from Mathurakaliamman temple at Vallam in Thanjavur on Wednesday.

According to sources, on Wednesday, when Nishanth Manoj, the priest at Sri Venugopala Krishna temple, arrived for morning pooja, he was shocked to find the lock in the processional deity sannidhi was broken, and the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar idol was missing.

Soon, he passed on the information to the temple Executive Officer Shanmugapriya, who lodged a complaint with Sessions Court Police. The police rushed to the spot and conducted an elaborate inspection. They found that miscreants who gained entry into the temple premises from the back wall had damaged the CCTV cameras fixed around the temple and stolen the idols. The Idol Wing team also conducted an investigation.

Meanwhile, in Thanjavur, miscreants who entered the Arulmigu Mathurakaliamman temple at Vannarapettai village near Vallam broke open the Amman sannadhi and removed the idol to collect the gold plates beneath the idols. As they couldn't find anything, they broke open the dump box and eventually attempted to lift the idol. However, upon sensing people's movement in the village, they left the idol abandoned and escaped. Vallam Police registered a case and are investigating further.