Cuddalore, September 4, 2013: Sivarajan (63) of Rayanallur near Kattumannarkoil, serving as priest in Thiru Chinnapuram Siva Temple at Kattumannarkoil, was allegedly abducted and tortured by a four-member gang on Sunday.

Sources said that in a complaint lodged with the police, Sivarajan, a retired headmaster, said that he was earlier a trustee of Rayanallur Siva temple. While he was returning from Thiru Chinnapuram on a two-wheeler on Sunday, a four-member gang followed him in a car, waylaid him on Veeranam tank bund road, and took him away in the vehicle.

During the travel, the gang members asked him to tell them where he had hidden a temple ‘kalasam’ made of iridium.

Iridium is a highly-priced material known for its unique characteristics of non-corrosive nature and ability to withstand extreme temperature.

The ‘kalasam’ placed atop the tower of Rayanallur Siva temple reportedly went missing for sometime. The gang members pricked Sivarajan with a needle to make him “reveal the whereabouts” of the ‘kalasam.’

After obtaining Sivarajan’s signature in empty bond papers, the gang dropped him at Bhuvanagiri.

Source: The Hindu, September 4, 2013