Treasure hunters held for destroying Nandi idol in ancient temple

NELLORE: Prakasam police on Saturday arrested six persons for destroying an idol of Nandi at the ancient Sri Ganga Parvati Sametha Eleshwara Swamy Shrine in Kanaparthy village of Nagaluppalapadu mandal in Prakasam district on October 17.

Those arrested have been identified as Vallela Venkata Reddy, 36, of Devaraju Gattu village in Peddaravidu mandal in Prakasam district; Bhubanagiri Srinivasulu, 33, of Rayavaram village in Markapuram mandal of Prakasam district; Syed Hussain, 40, of Retur village in Kakumanu mandal of Guntur district; Kongaveeti Bala Sanjivaiah, 40, of Pedda Yachavaram village in Markapuram mandal of Prakasam district; Mushtipalli Niranjan, 32, of Surapur in Lingala mandal of Nagurkurnool district; and Balu of Dornala mandal.

Prakasam superintendent of police Malika Garg said the accused led by Vallela Venkat Reddy targeted the Nandi idol assuming that there is hidden treasure inside the idol. He apparently got information about the supposed treasure and its location from his friend, who worked with the archaeology department.
Venkat Reddy had earlier been booked for attempting to steal valuables from an ancient Siva Temple at Tripuranthakam in 2012. After that, he moved to Hyderabad city, where he worked as a labourer.

Subsequently, Venkat Reddy came to believe that there is hidden treasure inside the idol of Nandi at the Sri Ganga Parvati Sametha Eleshwara Swamy Shrine. He then contacted the other accused and convinced them into joining him for unearthing and sharing the hidden treasure.

The accused utilised three kg thermite powder and lit it with a candle to blast the idol. However, they did not find any treasure. However, the gang took away the DVR and UPS related to CCTV cameras from the temple.

Following the incident, Malika Garg formed three teams under supervision of additional SP (Crimes), Ongole DSP, and Ongole Rural DSP, and rural inspector to investigate the case.

The teams tracked down the culprits and arrested them on Saturday for destroying the Nandi idol. Police also seized a Tata Zest Prestum car, six kg of thermite powder, DVR, UPS, a hammer and chisels from the accused.