CHENNAI: Eight panchaloha idols including five that are over 1,000 years old were seized from a hideout near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district on Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID DGP Jayanth Murali said, adding that the idols’ antiquity had been proven first. However, local idol artisans protested, saying the idols weren’t antiques but were made at the unit which the cops are calling a hideout.
The idols, which are said to be worth several crore rupees, have been brought to Chennai.
The hideout was an idol-manufacturing unit run by G Masilamani, an idol smuggler, the Idol Wing CID said, adding that he had been booked by the Siva Kanchi police for illegal possession of idols a few years back.
On Monday, the police raided Masilamani’s residence in Kodambakkam, Chennai, but received information that he had shifted the idols to his hideout in Swamimalai, a press release from the Idol Wing CID said. The police then found the idols in Swamimalai.
The people at the hideout didn’t have documentation regarding the idols’ origins or ownership, the police said, adding that documents were found in the hideout stating that the idols are antiques. Local artisans initially maintained that Masilamani made the idols, but relented after the cops produced documents showing that five of them are antiques.
The five idols believed to be antiques are a Bogasakti Amman idol, two idols of Buddha, and one each of Andal and Vishnu. The other seized items are a Nataraja idol, a nine-foot Sivagami idol, and a Ramana Maharishi idol. An investigation is on to trace the origins of the idols and find from which temples they were stolen.
The Idol Wing CID said Masilamani has been given a week to produce documentation for the idols, failing which he will be arrested.