Twelve idols stolen from the Siddhantha Mandir in Moodbidri on the night of July 5 were returned to the Mangalore City Commissioner of Police’s office via Speed Post.
Mangalore City Commissioner of Police Manish Kharbikar told reporters on Wednesday his office had received a Speed Post weighing about 750 grams containing the 12 rare idols on Tuesday evening. Though the Speed Post was addressed to him, he refused to reveal the sender’s address.
The idols were identified and confirmed by Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji, pontiff of Moodbidri Jain Mutt. The value of the idols were not assessed as they are antique with a history of about 600 years. However, the complainant who registered the case, Sudesh Kumar, had assessed them to be worth `75 crore. The idols are made of diamond, quartz, blue sapphire, emerald, gold and silver. The Commissioner of Police said one of the 12 idols is damaged while the rest are intact.
According to the initial complaint, 15 antique idols were stolen from the Siddantha Mandir. However, after receiving 12 idols through speed post, the count has gone up to 20. Mangalore City police had earlier seized three idols and a golden block weighing 1.22 kg, which was derived from melting five golden idols. Five idols are yet to be recovered.
The Recovered Idols
The speed post contained the diamond idol of Chandraprabha Swami, quartz idol of Siddha Paramesti, quartz idol of Munisuvrutha Swami, green stone idol of Arahantha Paramesti, blue sapphire idol of Munisuvrutha Swami, quartz idol of Aranatha Paramesti, blue sapphire idol of Arahantha, green stone idol of Parshwanatha Swami, blue sapphire idol of Mallinatha, quartz idol of Siddha Paramesti and a silver stand. The parcel also contained an elephant pearl and pieces of quartz and sapphire.