Temple’s emerald lingam stolen

Police said a four-member gang had attempted to break open the door of the temple two weeks ago and they had to abort it when devotees saw them. Police had recovered one of the two bikes used by the gang then.

On Saturday, the villagers saw the main door of the Swayambuveeswarar Koil broken open and informed the police. Police said the thieves had used some chemicals to extract the emerald idol from its stone base and had poured oil on the lock and front door to wipe off their finger prints. The thieves had not touched two Panchaloha idols there. 

Residents complained of laxity on the part of police to provide security to the temple even after an earlier attempt.