MADURAI: Three panchaloha idols were stolen from the century-old Sri Petchiamman Temple here late on Monday night. The temple in-charge, Mohan, found the idols missing when he went to clean the premises on Tuesday morning. The temple is owned and maintained by a family here and is located on Petchiamman Padithurai Road in Madurai.
S Senthilvel, one of the family members and a temple trustee, said that five panchaloha idols -- Ponnarshankar, Vinayagar, Petchiamman, and two Ayyanars -- were kept in a box in the mandap of the temple. CCTV footage from a camera in the temple showed a person gaining entry to the temple premises by scaling the compound wall, breaking open the room and the box, and taking away three idols -- one Ayyanar (riding a horse), Ponnarshankar (on an elephant), and Vinayagar -- in a gunny bag. The elephant mount of Ponnarshankar was later found near the temple on Tuesday.
A team of sleuths from the idol Wing, fingerprints experts, and officers from the Thilagar Thidal police station inspected the spot. An officer from the Idol Wing said that the theft could not have been committed by a seasoned idol thief; it could be someone from the locality.
A police officer from Thilagar Thidal station said that the CCTV footage showed only one person, but he could have been assisted by someone outside the temple. The Thilagar Thidal police registered a case under IPC sections 457 and 380 based on complaint of one L Petchimuthu from West Masi Street.