MADURAI: Four panchaloha idols stolen from the Chitra Ratha Vallabha Perumal Temple in Kuruvithurai on Saturday night were found abandoned on the roadside near Kalyanipatti village in Uthappanaickanur police limits in the wee hours of Tuesday, Inspector General of Police (South Zone) KP Shanmuga Rajeswaran said in Sholavandhan near here.
The centuries-old idols were of Lord Perumal, Lord Panchamurthi, Goddess Sridevi and Goddess Boodevi. Two idols were damaged by the lifters. Sleuths believe the thieves cut a small portion of the idols to find the gold content in the alloy.
Briefing media persons Inspector General of Police (Idol Wing) Pon Manickavel said that the thieves must have abandoned the idols after finding that extracting gold from the alloy was costly and difficult.
The IG also said that a weak lock and low-resolution CCTV cameras enabled the thieves to pull off the heist without much effort.
IG Shanmuga Rajeshwaran said special teams would continue their efforts to track down the culprits, adding that the officials already received crucial information. Later, Pon Manickavel inspected the temple and gave recommendations to the authorities to strengthen the security system.
The IG said he would send a recommendation to HR&CE department requesting it to reward those who provided information to the police.