Nearly two weeks after an emerald idol, measuring two-and-a-half feet in height, of Balamurugan Dhandayuthapani Swamy was stolen from the Nadu Palani temple near Madurantakam in Chengalpattu district, the police recovered it from an abandoned quarry nearby on September 13. Police arrested three men in connection with the incident.
💥 நடுபழனி மரகத தண்டாயுதபாணி சிலை மீட்பு*
செங்கல்பட்டு மாவட்டம் அச்சரப்பாக்கம் அருகே நடுபழனி அருள்மிகு மரகத தண்டாயுதபாணி கோயிலில் திருடப்பட்ட பலகோடி ரூபாய் மதிப்பிலான மரகத சிலையை போலீசார் மீட்டுள்ளனர்.
கடந்த செப்டம்பர் 1-ம் தேதி சிலை திருடப்பட்ட நிலையில், 12 நாட்களாக தனிப்படை… pic.twitter.com/vnX5n9nKqj
— 🪷 MЄЄƝƛ ƖƳЄƦ 🪷 (@Maha_Periyavaa) September 13, 2026
After registering a case, special teams were formed. They collected and examined footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras and questioned over 20 habitual offenders.
According to media reports, “the burglars had buried the murti at the abandoned quarry about 1 km from the temple after stealing it”.
Om Muruga!
The Emerald Murugan idol has been retrieved.
Congratulations to the
Chittamur police and the special teams under Chengalpattu Superintendent of Police Ayman Jamal Iqbal and Madurantakam DSP Deepak Rajini . @tnpoliceoffl pic.twitter.com/FhTRqfEmML— Kasturi (@KasthuriShankar) September 13, 2026
On September 13, the police noticed suspicious activity near the quarry and found the three men there. They were detained and questioned, following which the murti was recovered.
மரகத பாலமுருகன் சிலை மீட்பு
கடந்த 1ஆம் தேதி செங்கல்பட்டு அருகே நடுபழனி முருகன் கோயிலிலிருந்து திருடப்பட்ட சுமார் இரண்டரை அடி உயர மரகத பாலமுருகன் சிலை மீட்பு. சிலை திருட்டு தொடர்பாக சிடிடிவி ஆதாரங்களின் அடிப்படையில் 3 பேர் கைது#Chengalpattu #Balamuruganidol #CCTV #Thanthitv pic.twitter.com/rZzE2KBi7G
— Thanthi TV (@ThanthiTV) September 13, 2026
A nearly 2.5 foot-tall emerald murti of Bhagwan Murugan was stolen from the sanctum sanctorum of the Maragadha Bala Dhandayuthapani Murugan Temple at Perukaranai village near Madurantakam-Acharapakkam in the early hours of September 2. The value of the idol has not been ascertained yet.
The thieves, after disabling the alarm and spraying foam over the CCTV cameras, entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, popularly known as “Nadu Palani” (Middle Palani), as there is a Palani in Dindigul and Vadapalani in Chennai, and this temple is located between the two. This temple is being managed by a private trust atop a hill. There are steps to reach the temple.
The rare emerald murti was brought from Mysuru and installed in the temple in 2008 by the Ganapathy Sachidananda Swamigal Trust of Mysuru.
Access to the temple was protected by three heavy security doors and iron shutters, as well as an alarm system designed to go off when there is an intrusion. It has CCTV cameras at strategic points around the temple. It is suspected that someone who knew the system and its security arrangements possibly gleaned the information during recess while posing as devotees.
It is learnt that the recovered emerald murti of Bhagwan Murugan would be placed in the same place from where it was stolen on the intervening night of September 1 and 2. Meanwhile, the police team has questioned the arrested trio. It is not known whether they have recovered any other items missing from the temple.
