Over-Century-Old India-Made Statue Of Hindu Deity Stolen From South Africa Temple

The statue, made of solid silver, was among a number of items stolen from the Arupta Temple in the mainly Indian suburb of Isipingo Hills in Durban, where the first indentured labourers landed by boat in 1860.

An over-a-century-old silver statue of revered Hindu deity Shakti, brought by an indentured labourer from India, was stolen along with a number of other items from a temple in South Africa, leaving the community heartbroken with the theft of the historical idol. The statue, made of solid silver, was among a number of items stolen from the Arupta Temple in the mainly Indian suburb of Isipingo Hills in Durban, where the first indentured labourers landed by boat in 1860. Trustee of the temple Omela Moodley said that her grandfather Murugasa Coopsamy Naicker had initially kept the statue in his private temple at his residence in another suburb of Durban, Clairwood, but after his death, it was donated to the temple when the surviving family relocated there. Ms Moodley told the weekly Post that burglars gained entry to the temple through a window in the resident priest's living quarters.