Eleven pancha loha idols worth around Rs 10 lakh were found missing on Wedesday at the century-old Venugopalaswamy temple, situated in Baburajapuram town panchayat, Kumbakonam.
According to sources, on Monday, the priest had finished his daily rituals, locked the temple and left the premises. On Tuesday, he was unable to reach the temple due to heavy rain. When Ravichandran came on Wednesday, he found the sanctum sanctorum open. Later, he informed the temple trustees about the heist.
A complaint over the missing idols was lodged with at the Swamimalai police station. It is suspected that a gang could have entered the temple through the boundary wall that had collapsed two year ago and stolen the five idols.
The renovation work according to the trustees of the temple was scheduled to begin in a few weeks.
Of the 13 panchaloha idols in the temple, 11 were looted. Professional idol makers from Swamimalai valued the stolen idols at Rs 11 lakh.