A two and half ft tall panchaloha idol of goddess Amman was stolen from a temple in Chettipalayam on the outskirts today.

The priest, who arrived to perform early morning pooja, was shocked to notice the back door, which is strengthened with iron grill, broken open. He immediately alerted the police, who arrived at the scene, and inspected the almirah, in which the idol was kept after night pooja, broken open, police said.

The robbers left gold and silver ornaments locked inside the almirah untouched, indicating that their sole target was the idol.

Investigations are on to find out whether this is the handiwork of idol smugglers.