Three idols returned to Adikesava Perumal temple in Ulundurpet

The idols, stolen from the temple in July 2011, were seized from an art collector’s house in Chennai on December 7

Three antique idols, recovered by the Idol Wing police from an art collector’s house in Chennai on December 7, were handed over on Wednesday to the authorities of the Adikesava Perumal temple at Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district from where the idols were stolen in 2011.

The Idol Wing team, led by Director General of Police (Idol Wing CID) K. Jayanth Murali, Inspector General of Police Dhinakaran, Superintendent of Police Ravi, and Deputy Superintendents of Police Muthuraja and Mohan, took the three idols in a procession through the streets of Ulundurpet and handed them over to the temple authorities and officials from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department.

The Idol Wing police, while perusing a list of persons who had registered antique idols with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), came across a woman art collector in Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai, who had registered six antique artefacts that appeared to be stolen from temples.

A special team searched the premises of the art collector and found seven antique idols in her possession. The team found that three of these – the standing Perumal, Sri Devi, and Bhudevi idols – had the name ‘Adikesava Perumal temple, Ulundurpet’ inscribed on their bases. Investigations found that the idols had been stolen from the temple on July 10, 2011.