Madurai: The mystery behind a missing idol has been cracked after 104 years. An idol believed to be more than 700 years old went missing from a temple in Madurai in 1915 and has been recovered from the house of a former priest now.

Kandasamy, one of the priests of the temple stole the idol following a disagreement with other priests. A case was registered with the British police but the case made no headway despite investigations.

Kandasamy had created a hole in the wall of his house in a bid to hide the idol and then plastered the surface of the wall.

The incident came to light after Kandasamy’s grandson Murugesan suspected that his grandfather had hidden the idol inside the wall. Murugesan suspected it after he recalled that Kandasamy would offer prayers at that particular spot in the wall.

He feared that his grandfather’s act could have angered the deity and caused the deaths of many of their relatives as well as his own deteriorating health condition.

Murugesan’s complaint forced the police to demolish the house on Sunday. Upon demolishing the house, the lost statue was discovered at the exact spot mentioned by Murugesan.

The idol was of Dhraupadhi Amman measuring around 1.5 feet in height. The description of the idol matched the records maintained by the temple including the fact that the idol has three eyes.

The idol was taken back to the 800-year-old temple and a special pooja was performed.