The Vellakoil police on Tuesday arrested a man on charges of allegedly attempting to sell an idol for ₹ 1 crore claiming it to be a panchaloha idol at Vellakoil in Tiruppur district.
The police said G. Ramesh (37) was working as a temporary staff at the Vellakoil Panchayat Union office till January 2020. At around 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday, he was carrying the idol near a temple when the police deployed at the spot questioned him.
He was taken to the Vellakoil police station for inquiry, where he confessed to have purchased the idol from Coimbatore for ₹ 4 lakh in 2020 and that he was attempting to sell it for ₹ 1 crore. The accused was arrested and remanded in judicial custody, the police said.
Weighing around 1.5 kg and about one-foot tall, the idol of a goddess would be subjected to tests to confirm whether it was a panchaloha idol. Investigations regarding the source of the idol were under way, the police added.
