Missing Chola-Era Idol Stolen From Tamil Nadu Found In New York

A missing Parvathi idol has been discovered by police at the New York City Bonhams Auction House. In 1971, the idol vanished from Kumbakonam's Nadanapureshwarar temple.

According to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the CID's idol division Jayanth Murali, the Department of Homeland Security in the US has been contacted via the Ministry of External Affairs and Interpol authorities in order to recover the stolen idol in accordance with the mutual treaty between the governments of India and the US.

The theft of five idols from the temple, including the Parvathi idol, Thandanthottam Natarajar idol, and Golu Amman idols, was reported a day later by temple officials on May 13, 1971, but Nachiyarkoil police didn't file a case at that time, reported The Times Of India.

The idol wing CID police only opened a case on February 14, 2019, in response to a K Vasu complaint. M Chitra, a police inspector, was tasked with looking into the matter. She began searching the overseas archives of various museums and auction houses for the idols from the Chola era.

She conducted a comprehensive investigation and discovered the idol to be at the New York Bonhams Auction House.The 12th-century 52 cm tall copper alloy statue was on display in the auction house and cost 1.68 crore.