CHENNAI, INDIA, June 25, 2017 (Deccan Chronicle): A Sivalingam made of maragatham (emerald), valued over US$310,000 from the 400-year-old temple in Thiruporur was stolen by unidentified men on Friday night in the darkness of the new moon. The theft happened at Swayambulingeswara temple in Illaloor located on Thiruporur-Guduvancherry Road. According to the police, the statue was the main deity till 10 years ago. A decade back during Kumbhabhishekam a new stone deity was installed and this emerald Siva lingam was kept on the side along with other parivaramoorthigal.
However a year back a wandering devotee recognised the importance of the Lingam and told the temple authorities that it was a very valuable statue. Since then, more and more people started visiting the temple to have darshan of the maragatha Lingam. Residents decided to group together to have a neighborhood patrolling team to take care of the temple security on a rotation basis. On Friday night because of heavy rains and power cut, the team decided to call off patrolling at around 11 pm. Around 5.30 am on Saturday the emerald lingam was discovered stolen. The one-and-half-foot tall emerald lingam was removed from the base using a chemical solution, police noted, after visiting the temple.