CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID police have traced a stolen idol of Lord Murugan belonging to a Shiva temple in the Kallakurichi district to Homeland Security Investigations of the United States of America (HSI-USA).
According to the Idol Wing police, the complaint was given by Periyasamy Udayar, a former panchayat president of Thatchur village in Kallakurichi district. In the complaint the said there was a Shiva temple in Thatchur village during the 7th and 8th centuries Pallava period and it had several stone idols.
“During the invasions of Malik Kafur and other Mughal emperors, the temple was plundered and destroyed. A total of 13 idols remained and they were buried in the ground. In 1998, these idols were unearthed and people started worshipping them. In 2000, an idol of Lord Murugan was stolen. Though 23 years have passed, nobody has lodged a complaint,” the complaint read.
The Idol Wing CID registered a case and an investigation was initiated. “After the police came to know about a book called ‘Thadayam’ that had details about the temple and the idols, they managed to get a copy of it. It had references and pictures of the Lord Murugan idol.
Using the pictures, the police started a search and finally, landed upon a list of confiscated idols by HSI-USA,” sources added. After getting a list of seized items from the HSI-USA, they will initiate state to bring it back to the state.