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‘HR&CE staff had removed it years ago’
A panchaloha idol of Chola queen Sembiyan Maadevi, which was stolen from the Kailasanathaswamy Temple at Sembiyan Maadevi village in Nagapattinam district, has been traced to the Freer Art Gallery in Washington D.C., United States of America. The idol measuring 107 centimetres in height was removed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) officials in a “dishonest” manner from the temple about 30 to 40 years ago, a press release from the Idol Wing CID here said.
Chance discovery
In connection with the theft of the idol, High Court advocate ‘Elephant’ Rajendran filed a complaint with the Velankanni Police station in Nagapattinam district based on which a First Information Report (FIR) was registered. The report was sent to the Kumbakonam Chief Judicial Magistrate court and the case has been transferred to the Idol Wing CID headed by Inspector General A.G. Ponn Manickavel. According to sources, advocate ‘Elephant’ Rajendran saw the stolen idol at the art gallery and photographed it. Later, he showed the photographs to the Sivan Adiyars and the temple priests at Sembiyan Maadevi village. They recognised the photograph and confirmed that it was indeed the stolen idol of Sembiyan Maadevi, who was a great Saivite scholar during her period.
Mr. Manickavel said the investigation team would soon write to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs through the Tamil Nadu government backed by solid evidence to retrieve the idol from the United States of America.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/stolen-saivite-idol-traced-to-us-gallery/article25024042.ece
