BHAKTAPUR: Two ancient statues of Goddess Brahmayani have disappeared from the Brahmayani Temple at Taulachhe in Bhaktapur Municipality.

Superintendent of Police at the Metropolitan Police Range, Bhaktapur, Kiran Bajracharya said that their preliminary investigation showed that three gates of the temple were broken last night to steal the bronze idols.

One of the stolen idols had four hands, weighed around five kg and stood 1.1 feet tall. The other was 10 inch high with four hands and weighed around five kilogram.

It has been learned that four priests are employed at the temple.

The theft was noticed this morning when people visited the temple for the regular morning rituals.

Police reached the incident site immediately after local people informed them about the missing statues at around 7 am today.

Police said it became easier for the thieves to lift the statues from the temple as local people living around the temple had migrated elsewhere following the 2015 earthquake.

Bajracharya said that they conducted raids at suspicious places in connection with the incident and are launching a search for the statues.