Two held for ‘stealing’ Panchaloha idols

The Central Crime Station (CCS) police arrested two youngsters for stealing Panchaloha idols from Mallur Laxminarasimha Swamy temple in Mangapet mandal on Tuesday. The police recovered Rs. One crore-worth Panchaloha idol of Sri Krishna and Sudarshana Chakra from their possession. City Police Commissioner G. Sudheer Babu said the accused were identified as Dasi Praveen (24) of Basvarajupally village in Mulugu Ganapuram mandal and Janga Madhukar of Kompally village in Bhoopalpalli mandal. He said they were taken into custody near Peddamma Gadda bridge while they were bringing the idols to Hanamkonda to verify their value. Mr. Sudheer Babu said that the accused, Praveen, a tractor owner, used to supply sand and crushed stone, but his tractor was seized as he was doing it illegally. Following this, he suffered losses and was unable to repay his loan taken to purchase the tractor. He came to know about huge demand for Panchaloha idols in the international market and hatched a plan to steal the idols with the help of his childhood friend Madhukar. On Monday night, the duo stole the idols. However, the CCS police nabbed them on Tuesday.