Tamil Nadu police trace stolen antique Nataraja idol to US museum

TRICHY: The idol wing CID of the Tamil Nadu police has traced an antique metal Nataraja idol -- stolen 62 years ago from the 2,000-year-old Vedapureeswarar temple in Thanjavur district -- to the Asia Society Museum in New York, US.
Acting on the complaint of S Venkatachalam, 60, of Tiruvedhikudi, the idol wing CID police led by director general of police (DGP) Jayanth Murali, filed an FIR on September 1, 2022. Ventatachalam alleged that the idol was stolen from the temple in 1963.
Idol wing inspector of police R Indira pursued the case. The investigating team sought original photos from the Indo-French Institute Pondicherry (IFP). After receiving the photos, the team searched on the websites of various museums, brochures of artefact collectors and auction houses.
After an extensive search, the team stumbled on the idol on the Asia Society Museum’s website.
The idol wing sought the help of an expert. After a careful comparison, the expert concluded that the idol in the museum was the same as the image obtained from the IFP.
The police said action was under way to retrieve the idol from the museum and bring it back to India under a UNESCO agreement.
Heritage enthusiast India Pride Project Vijay Kumar, who gave inputs to the idol wing CID on the idol, said, “The Asia Society has already returned the Punnainallur Nataraja. The second Nataraja should be home soon. We thank the idol wing for acting on our inputs.”
Venkatachalam told the Idol wing police that his father Sammantham Chedurayar had approached the Naducauvery police and the local senior officers to trace the idol but no action had been taken.
According to the idol wing CID, the present Nataraja idol in the temple is a fake one. “They found a metal idol in a pond a day after the original one went missing. So, they concluded that idol as the original one and placed it in the temple,” Indira told TOI.
The police are also investigating if any other idols were stolen from the temple.