Case Filed 40 Years After Ancient Idol Stolen From Tamil Nadu Temple

 KUMBAKONAM: Four decades after an ancient Nataraja idol was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu, the state idol wing police have registered a case.

The idol worth Rs. 50 crore then was stolen in 1972 from a Shiva temple in Thandanthottam village, police said.

Earlier in 1971, five idols worth Rs. 60 crore then were stolen from the same temple, they said.

After the second incident of theft, the other idols in the temple were shifted to the safety locker at the Uppiliappan temple.

Though a complaint was lodged, no case was registered for the past 47 years, and the local police did not give a proper explanation as to why a case was not registered.

It is suspected that the stolen Nataraja idol was in England, from where it had been smuggled to America.

Also, there were complaints that the idols in the locker had been replaced with fake ones and investigations were on to verify them.