CHENNAI: A 25-kg silver armour worth `9 lakh was reported stolen from a temple at the house of yesteryear silver screen actress Jayachitra on Saturday.
The Sri Jaya Vinayagar temple is part of Jayachitra’s house at Mahalingapuram. She worships the three-foot Vinayaga idol in the temple regularly and also offers puja. On April 24, Jayachitra offered a silver armour to adorn the idol and worshipped the Lord on that day. After prayers, she removed the armour, reportedly weighing around 25 kg, and kept it inside her house. On Friday, she went to retrieve the armour to adorn the idol with it again, but could not find it.
Subsequently, she lodged a complaint with the Nungambakkam police through her manager Ganesan.
In the complaint, Jayachitra stated that the armour was kept inside a steel almirah. Police sources said that the armour was worth around `9 lakh and that it would have been impossible to take it out of the house without help from inside.
The house is under the surveillance of four CCTV cameras, of which one is placed near the temple and two at the entrance of the house. The police were handed over the CCTV footage. They have started questioning the temple priest, house maids and guards, who were on duty.