HYDERABAD: Two persons who stole antique panchaloha idols of god and goddess in Maharashtra and Telangana were arrested by the Hyderabad City Task Force sleuths with the assistance of Sangareddy police on Sunday. Police seized three idols, reportedly around 600 years old, of Lord Venugopalaswamy, Goddess Satyabhama and Rukmini from the accused. The idols are worth `3 crore in the open market.
The arrested persons have been identified as Shaik Hyder and Shaik Aziz, both natives Bidar district of Karnataka.
On Jan 28, Kanjarla Madu lodged a complaint at Kamareddy police station stating that his father Krishanma Chary, a priest at the Gopalaswamy temple, on January 27 found out that three Panchaloha idols of Rukmini, Sathyabama and Venugopalaswamy, and a silver crown from were missing from the Venugopalaswamy temple. The lock of the temple door had been broken open. Based on complaint, police registered criminal cases and initiated investigation.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad North Zone Task Force sleuths received information that the suspects involved in the idol theft were moving around the city. The city police, jointly with the Sangareddy police, nabbed the duo when they were trying to dispose off the stolen idols to a businessmen at Afzulganj. Hyderabad Police Commissioner VV Srinivasa Rao said the department had been on tip off about the deal. The accused Shaik Hyder and Shaik Aziz are part of inter-state gang in committing thefts in temples. They had earlier committed similar offences in Hingoli police limits of Aurangabad Division, Maharashtra.
