The bronze idol of Nataraja.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Idol Wing CID (IWCID) of the Tamil Nadu police has traced three antique idols abroad — a Nataraja idol with Christie’s in France, Alinganamurthy with Sotheby’s in New York and a granite Buddha in Manhattan, USA. These were reportedly stolen from the temples in Tirunelveli, Perambalur and Kancheepuram districts several years ago.
Inspector Shameem Banu of the Tirunelveli IWCID unit, recently on learning about the burglary of idols from the Akilandeshwari Sametha Gotanda Ramaswamy temple, Kovilpatti in 1970s, decided to make enquiries about the theft of four metal idols — namely a Nataraja, an idol of Akilandeswari Amman and two others. Three of the idols were recovered following investigation by the police in 1972 while the Nataraja idol was yet to be recovered. The case was reinvestigated by her.
Subsequently, the officers of the wing came across an auction notice issued by Christies.com, France, listing a bronze Nataraja idol for sale at a bid price of 200000 to 300000 Euros.
After verifying with the images of the idols available at the French Institute of Puducherry, village elders and comparison by an expert, the officers came to conclusion that the idol listed by the auction house is indeed the one stolen from the temple.
Director-General of Police, IW CID, K. Jayanth Murali communicated to the Indian authorities in France and Christie’s stopped the auction of the idol.
Plaint from octogenarian
Similarly, the Idol Wing recently received a complaint from an octogenarian in Kovilpalayam, Perambalur district on the theft of a metal statue of Lord Chandrasekhar and His Consort Chandrasekhar Amman in an embrace on a single pedestal (Alinganamurthy) and the dancing Sambandar metal statue.
After looking for the idol with various artefact collectors, and museums in vain, the officers finally stumbled on a catalogue of Sotheby’s. Mr. Murali said, “Our investigation revealed that Sotheby’s had sold the idol of the metal idol called Alinganamurthy in 1998 for $85,000.”
The Idol Wing has readied papers and will be submitting the same shortly to the Government of U.S.A. to identify the collector who purchased the idol from the Sotheby’s and have the same returned to India after confiscation.
The Idol Wing has also traced a granite Buddha which was stolen from Arapakkam village temple in Kancheepuram district to Manhattan, U.S.A.
The officers of the wing activated the investigation following a complaint alleging that on the night of November 25, 2003, some persons broke into the Adhikesava Perumal Temple, that was built about 1,400 years ago and took away an antique stone Buddha statue in sitting pose.
Police said there was some information that international antique smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who was recently convicted and lodged in Tiruchi prison, was responsible for the theft. With the help of S. Vijay Kumar, a heritage enthusiast, the police compared a copy of the Art of Past Catalog of September 2010 and another book.
It was learnt that the idol had been seized from Subash Kapoor’s gallery in New York by the District Attorney’s office in Manhattan and was now available in their warehouse. The Idol Wing is now preparing the papers and will be submitting the same within a week to bring the Buddha idol back to Tamil Nadu and have it reinstalled in its original place, said the police.