15th-century era Vishnu idol seized in TN; 7 arrested

Chennai, Aug 10 (IANS) The Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu Police on Saturday seized an idol of Vishnu belonging to the 15th-century era and arrested seven persons regarding the case.

Police said that following a lead they intercepted a car at Melathiruvizhapatti on the Thanjavur-Tirichirapalli national highway and recovered a two and a half feet Vishu idol.

“On questioning, one of the accused, A. Dhinesh, informed the police that his father found the idol while he was digging a land.

Dhinesh confessed that his father kept the idol concealed in their family cattle shed.

“He also confessed that after his father’s passing away, he (Dhinesh) decided to sell the idol. He and six other accomplices decided to sell the idol for Rs 2 crore,” an official said.

However, following a thorough investigation, the police found that Dhinesh did not have any proper documents of the idol.

The police arrested Dhinesh and his accomplices and were remanded to judicial custody by the Kumbakonam Court.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the idol belonged to the 15th or 16th century,” an official said.

A senior police officer told IANS that the idol would be stolen from some temple.

“We are also probing about the details of the temple from where the idol was stolen,” the police official said.

Tamil Nadu Idol Wing has been constituted for cracking temple thefts which take place across the state and other South Indian states.

–IANS

aal/dan