CHENNAI: Hot on the trail of idol thieves, who are making a fortune by robbing temples in Tamil Nadu, the Idol Wing of the State police’s Economic Offences unit has traced as many as eight idols that were stolen from the temples of interior Tamil Nadu which are now at the popular Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in Singapore.
If the Idol Wing officials are to be believed, there are four stone and metal idols each from Tamil Nadu that are now at the museum in Singapore. These include the beautiful panchaloha statue of Somaskanda, the not-so-common family depiction of Siva and Parvati with their son Skanda that is among the top 20 highlights of the museum. The others are Nandhi, a stone sculpture from the 10th century; Boodevi, a stone sculpture from the later Chola period; Shiva, a granite sculpture from the 11th century; and Subramaniya, a stone sculpture of the 12th century.