CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID seized a 4.5-feet Nataraja idol, believed to be the third largest Nataraja idol in Asia, from Manali in Chennai on Thursday. While the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has ascertained that the idol is indeed made of panchaloha, the Idol Wing has approached the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) for further validation.
According to officials, the accused Parthiban, from whose premises the idol was seized, did not possess any document of its ownership. An investigation is under way to find the temple from which it was stolen and who stole it, they added.
In 2017, a woman from Alwarpet had approached the ASI requesting a non-antiquity certificate for the idol as she wanted to ship it to Germany.
The ASI suspected the idol to be an antique and denied the request. The whereabouts of the idol was, however, unknown. Last week, the Wing received information that the idol was still in Chennai and traced it to the iron and steel market in Manali.
"We have reasonable grounds to believe that it is an antique panchaloha idol which could be dated back to the early Chola period or the transition period of Pallava and Chola. It could be at least 1,200 years old. We have sought the expertise of ASI, Delhi and IGCAR in Kalpakkam to establish its antiquity and the panchaloha nature of the idol," said DGP (Idol Wing CID) K Jayanth Murali.
The miscreants who couldn't uproot the heavy idol severed it at the base and later reconstructed the base with iron and steel, added the officer.
‘May belong to Chola era’
Last week, the Wing received information the idol was still in Chennai and traced it to Manali's iron and steel market. "We have grounds to believe it is an antique, and can be dating back to the early Chola period or transition period of Pallava and Chola," he said.