Chennai. Thieves have stolen the precious emerald idol of Lord Murugan in a very vicious manner from the famous Sri Maragatha Bala Dandayudhapani Murugan Temple located near Madurantakam in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. The value of this idol is being estimated at crores of rupees in the international market.
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The crime was carried out in a vicious manner
According to the police report, the thieves completely foiled the security arrangements of the temple. The thieves cut the locks of three iron doors installed for the security of the sanctum sanctorum in the temple premises with the help of cutters. After that, to hide their identity, the thieves sprayed colored paint on the lenses of all the main CCTV cameras installed in the temple premises. Apart from this, the wires of the security siren and alarm system of the temple were cut and deactivated so that there was no sound at the time of theft.
2.25 feet high statue was brought from Mysore
The stolen Lord Murugan idol is made entirely of precious emeralds and measures 2.25 feet in height. This extremely rare idol was brought from Mysore, Karnataka in the year 2008 and installed in the sanctum sanctorum of this temple, after which it became a major center of faith for the local devotees.
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Reiki and suspicion of planned conspiracy
This incident came to light on Wednesday morning when the temple priest arrived to open the doors as usual. Police suspect that the thieves had earlier disguised themselves as common devotees and had done a complete recce of the security arrangements of the temple. After this, the thieves climbed up with the help of a huge statue built at the rear of the temple and entered inside the main premises.
Formation of two special police teams
As soon as information about this incident was received, Chittamur police and senior officials reached the spot. Presently evidence is being collected with the help of dog squad and fingerprint experts. The District Superintendent of Police has formed two special police teams to arrest the accused. The police is also investigating whether any international or interstate gang involved in smuggling of ancient idols is behind this theft.