Excited villagers thought they had been blessed by an angel
A life-sized doll was found by fisherman off the remote Banggai islands off Sulawesi
Came a day after solar eclipse – a deeply spiritual event in the country
Doll given fresh clothes and a Muslim headscarf and taken on boat trips
Excitement sparked fears of social unrest prompting police to investigate
Villager Pardin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, found the doll when he was fishing off the remote Banggai islands off Sulawesi in central Indonesia.
The discovery in March came a day after a solar eclipse swept across the area, a deeply spiritual experience in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
This led superstitious locals to believe the two events were linked.Pardin took the partially inflated doll to his home in Kalupapi village, where it was treated with great reverence.
His mother gave the 'angel' a fresh change of clothes and new Muslim headscarf to wear every day and pictures showed it sitting up in a chair and accompanying locals on a boat trip.
But then....
Police decided to investigate after becoming concerned the increasing excitement about the 'angel' could lead to unrest – and soon punctured the theory.
'We were hearing many stories, such as that the "fallen angel" was crying when she was discovered,' said police chief Heru Pramukarno.
'When our officers arrived they saw that the "fallen angel" was just a doll, it was a sex toy.'
Police decided to investigate after becoming concerned the increasing excitement about the 'angel' could lead to unrest – and soon punctured the theory.
'We were hearing many stories, such as that the "fallen angel" was crying when she was discovered,' said police chief Heru Pramukarno.
'When our officers arrived they saw that the "fallen angel" was just a doll, it was a sex toy.'
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