Two idols, which were stolen from Solapuri Amman Koil on the outskirts of Shenpakkam, were found abandoned at Kansalpet area, half a kilometre away from the temple in the Vellore north police station limits on Tuesday.
The theft came to light when Ganeshan, the temple caretaker, opened the temple early morning on Tuesday for the daily puja.
In his complaint, Ganeshan stated that when he went to the temple on Tuesday, he found the front door of the temple broken open and the stone idol of lord Vinayagar and the three-foot-tall brass idol of goddess Solapuri, weighing 140 kg, missing from the sanctum sanctorum, police said.
However, on receiving the information from villagers that the idols were found abandoned in Palar riverbed near Kansalpet, police rushed to the spot and recovered them in the evening and handed over the idols to the temple authorities. Police said the gold thali on the idol of the goddess had been stolen. The Vellore North Police registered a case and were investigating.