CHENNAI: Oxford University in London has agreed to repatriate the Thirumangai Alwar Bronze Idol, which was illegally removed from a temple at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu between 1957 and 1967 and is currently stored at the university’s Ashmolean Museum. The Idol Wing CID has said efforts are under way to bring this idol, which is worth crores of rupees, back to Tamil Nadu within a month.
The issue came to light in 2020 when the sleuths registered a case based on specific information regarding the theft of four valuable idols from the Soundararaja Perumal Temple at Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district between 1957 and 1967.
The stolen idols were of Thirumangai Alwar, Kaalinga Nartha Krishnar, Vishnu, and Sridevi. They were illegally sold by unidentified idol traffickers and smuggled abroad. At present, only replicas of these four idols are used for worship at the temple, the Idol Wing CID said.
Inquiries revealed that the Thirumangai Alwar bronze idol was purchased by the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University in 1967, while the three other idols were traced to various museums across the United States. The idol wing team compiled convincing and indisputable evidence and sent them to the relevant authorities in the US and the UK.
Following this, a representative from the university came to Kumbakonam for a verification process. After analysing the evidence, the representative was convinced that the idol originally belonged to the temple. The representative submitted a detailed report to the higher authorities at the university, which accepted the fact that the Thirumangai Alwar bronze idol was illegally removed from the temple. In a recent communication to the Idol Wing CID, Oxford University expressed its commitment to repatriating the idol to India.