Theni: Nine panchaloha idols worth Rs 20 lakh stolen from temple recovered

THENI: The Theni district police recovered nine

panchaloha

idols which were stolen from a

temple

at an ashram within 24 hours of its theft. According to police, burglars broke into the

Dakshinamurthy temple

at an ashram in Vedapuri and took away the nine

idols

worth Rs 20 lakh. Subsequently, a case was registered at the Palani Chettipatti police station.

Theni superintendent of police, Dongare Pravin Umesh visited the spot and carried out an investigation with fingerprint experts and sniffer dogs. Four teams were formed to recover the idols. Police nabbed M Sridhar from Periyakulam at the

Kumbakarai police

outpost. The accused admitted to stealing the panchaloha idols, along with an accomplice, Karthik.

While two idols were found hidden in bushes near the temple, seven were hidden in bushes near Adukkam road. Sridhar was arrested.