As many as three people who came in the grab of devotees have robbed 11 panchaloha idols from Papagni temple in Chikkaballapur.
The incident took place in the wee hours on Thursday.
The idols were said to be 500-year-old and costed about Rs. eight lakh each. Three persons who came late on Wednesday night in a car to the temple told the priests that their wives will arrive on Thursday and they will go to Hyderabad after performing ‘puja’. They were allowed to stay in the temple premises.
However, the miscreants locked the door of house of the priest Gangadharachary who was residing near the temple, and robbed the idols.
This was the second time the idols were stolen from the temple. In a previous theft case that occurred in 1978, the idols were found in Chennai the next day.
Superintendent of Police Divya, ASP Radhika and others visited the spot.
