CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID has registered a case and begun the process to repatriate an antique stone pillar seized by law enforcement authorities in Austria, suspecting that it was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu and illegally smuggled using forged documents.
Police said the development followed information received during routine work by the Idol Wing CID in Trichy. Authorities were alerted that an antique stone pillar, weighing about half-a-tonne, had been seized by Austrian law enforcement and kept in official storage.
The pillar features bas-relief carvings believed to depict Lord Vishnu, Garuda, a saint and a Hamsa bird. Photographs of the artefact and a portion of the plywood packing box, bearing inscriptions suggesting North Indian origin, were shared with Indian authorities.
A detailed enquiry revealed that the exact place of theft could not be pinpointed. However, the curator of Idol Wing CID, after examining the photographs, opined that the pillar was made of light buff granite typically found in the Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri belt of Tamil Nadu or adjoining regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and dates back to the 18th-19th century.
The matter was formally communicated to the Federal Ministry of Interior Criminal Intelligence Service, Cultural Property Unit and the Indian Embassy in Vienna. Austrian authorities have confirmed their readiness to initiate the restitution process.