TRICHY: An 11th century Chola Jain Theerthangara idol made of bronze excavated from Deepankudi in Tiruvarur district has been seized by the United States law enforcement agencies from an individual in the US recently, said Singapore-based idol blogger Vijay Kumar Sundaresan on Wednesday.
"American law enforcement has now seized the bronze idol in America," Vijay Kumar told TOI . Quoting an alleged email communication of an idol theft accused in January 2004, Vijay Kumar said the idol was unearthed when someone dug a pond to grow freshwater fish in Deepankudi. The idol reached a notorious idol dealer after passing through several hands. Eventually, a person known to be the kingpin of idol theft had bought it and smuggled it out of India.
He also said the idol was put through elaborate chemical tests in the US by the accused before it was sold to an individual there.
Vijay Kumar said that an archive of the idol helped them match the seized idol.
"We used our archive to find the bronze idol exhibited in a prestigious exhibition in London," he said. He said the idol was unearthed from the ground and hence no case of stolen idol could have been registered anywhere here.
"Will the Indian side go after the local perpetrators and find out how much more we have lost to his gang?, asked Vijay Kumar.
Asked if there was any communication from the United States Department of Homeland Security in this regard, inspector general of police, idol wing CID T S Anbu said he has not received any such information and promised to check its veracity.
"American law enforcement has now seized the bronze idol in America," Vijay Kumar told TOI . Quoting an alleged email communication of an idol theft accused in January 2004, Vijay Kumar said the idol was unearthed when someone dug a pond to grow freshwater fish in Deepankudi. The idol reached a notorious idol dealer after passing through several hands. Eventually, a person known to be the kingpin of idol theft had bought it and smuggled it out of India.
He also said the idol was put through elaborate chemical tests in the US by the accused before it was sold to an individual there.
Vijay Kumar said that an archive of the idol helped them match the seized idol.
"We used our archive to find the bronze idol exhibited in a prestigious exhibition in London," he said. He said the idol was unearthed from the ground and hence no case of stolen idol could have been registered anywhere here.
"Will the Indian side go after the local perpetrators and find out how much more we have lost to his gang?, asked Vijay Kumar.
Asked if there was any communication from the United States Department of Homeland Security in this regard, inspector general of police, idol wing CID T S Anbu said he has not received any such information and promised to check its veracity.
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