Police arrest two sisters who stole temple idols for ‘spiritual relief’

Two women arrested for stealing idol from temple due to personal tragedies, highlighting need for enhanced security measures.

Two women were arrested by the S.R. Nagar police on Tuesday in connection with theft of an idol from Sri Vinayaka Temple in Gurumurthy Nagar.

The accused were identified as Adidala Swarna Latha, 29, and J. Pavani, 26, both residents of NBT Nagar in Banjara Hills. The incident came to light following a complaint by Salimadugu Narender Reddy, the Executive Officer of the Endowments Department, after the temple priest P. Naveen Kumar noticed that two idols were missing from the temple’s inner sanctum. The stolen idols were made of Panchaloha, a sacred alloy made of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and iron.

Investigation revealed that Swarna Latha had faced a series of personal tragedies, which led her to believe that installing and worshipping idols would bring peace and stability. After losing her brother, nephew, sister’s husband, father, and husband within a span of two years, she consulted a religious figure who advised her to worship idols for spiritual healing. Unable to afford them, she planned to steal the idols from a temple and involved her sister, Pavani, in the crime. The women were remanded to judicial custody.

The police have urged temple authorities to enhance security measures, including installing CCTV cameras, motion sensors, and alarms to prevent such incidents. They also advised strict access control to temple premises and increased community vigilance to identify and report suspicious activities.