The stolen idol
They sprayed paint over CCTV cameras to prevent their movements and identities from being recorded before escaping with the idol around 1.30am.
Given the value of the idol, police said access to the sanctum was protected by three heavy security doors and iron shutters, besides an alarm system designed to go off in the event of an intrusion. Investigators said the burglars had climbed a huge statue behind the temple to reach a rear entrance and then made their way towards the sanctum. They cut the connections to the security alarm, preventing it from going off, before removing the idol from its pedestal, police said. Police said the manner in which the security systems were neutralised indicated that the burglars could have had prior knowledge of the arrangements at the temple. The temple had only one night security guard, and he would go on rounds on the ground floor, police said. A senior police officer said they had formed two special teams to trace the thieves and recover the idol and also to probe the role of insiders in the theft.
CCTV cameras had also been installed at strategic points around the temple. Police suspect the gang had thorough knowledge of the temple and its security arrangements, possibly gathered during recces posing as devotees. They immediately alerted the Chithamur police. Senior police officers inspected the temple, while forensic experts collected fingerprints and other evidence from the sanctum and surrounding areas. A sniffer dog was also pressed into service. Police were examining CCTV camera footage from roads and other locations leading to and from the hill temple to identify suspicious vehicles and movements during the night. During preliminary inquiries, police found that the temple priests had failed to switch on the burglar alarm the previous night. Police are probing whether an inter-state gang was involved or whether the theft was carried out by an organised idol-smuggling network.
The theft came to light on Wednesday morning when priests and temple administrators arrived and found the idol missing.