NAGAPATTINAM: Four idols were daringly stolen from an ancient temple in a village near Vedaranyam in the wee hours of Thursday in the middle of an ongoing festival week. The theft took place in the ancient Shri Kodimuthu Mariamman Temple in Kodiyakarai on Wednesday night. Four statues, of deities Murugan, Valli, Deivaanai and Mariamman were stolen.
The festival of Aadi is being celebrated across Mariamman Temples across Tamil Nadu. The ‘Pournami Pooja’ was conducted in Shri Kodimuthu Mariamman Temple in Kodiyakarai on Wednesday night. After the Pooja and prayers got over, the priests locked the doors of the temple and went home. When they returned to open the temple on Thursday morning, they found that four of the idols were missing from their pedestals inside the Sanctorum.
The shocked priests called the police, who in turn called for the forensics team to collect the evidence, and a sniffer dog from Nagapattinam to try to find the tracks of the burglars.
Sources said the burglars could have escaped through the wilderness of Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary. Vedaranyam Police registered a case. Further investigation is underway.