MAYILADUTHURAI: Two persons were arrested near Mayiladuthurai on Thursday and four stolen idols,
jewels and valuables worth several lakhs of rupees were recovered from them.
A six-member team, led by sub-inspector Ilaiyaraja Athmanathan, under the direction of Mayiladuthurai DSP M Vasantharaj and the orders of SP NS Nisha, nabbed A Karthik (38) from Kadalangudi and R Baskar (42) from Idaiyanallur in Thanjavur district.
Among the recovered items is a Ganesha stone idol weighing around 20 kg and standing a foot in height, a one-foot-tall bronze Aiyyappan idol weighing around 35 kg, a headless and limbless Shri Rajarajeshwari idol weighing around 15 kg and standing 0.75 feet in height and a twin idol weighing eight kg and standing 1/2 feet in height.
The Ganesha idol was stolen from the Pillaiyar temple in Sivaramapuram along the banks of the Cauvery in February 2020. The Aiyyappan idol was stolen from Mariamman temple in Thiruvalankadu along the banks of the Manjalaru in December 2020. The metal twin idols and the headless and limbless amman idol was stolen from Sri Ragavendra Mutt in Sivaramapuram in January 2021.
Some of the jewels were stolen from a house in Sivaramapuram in October 2021.
Vasantharaj said, "The two suspects were on our radar for some time. The value of some of the recovered items have to be assessed. The idols will be handed over to a special court. The Department of Archeology will examine them and then send them to the respective temples."
Nisha inspected the recovered items and appreciated the police team.