Idol wing receives antique Hanuman idol stolen from Ariyalur temple

Trichy: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) transferred a 500-year-old Panchaloha Hanuman idol to the idol wing CID of Tamil Nadu in Delhi. An ASI official handed over the antique idol to the additional superintendent of police (ADSP), G Balamurugan, of the idol wing. The idol is from the Varadharaju Perumal temple at Pottaveli in Vellore village, Ariyalur district. ADGP Shailesh Kumar Yadav, who leads the idol wing CID, dispatched a team headed by Balamurugan to Delhi to retrieve the idol a few days ago after it was brought back to India in March.According to sources, the idol will be brought to Chennai before being returned to the temple. The idol was stolen from the temple on April 9, 2012, by breaking open its doors. A case was registered with the Sendhurai police station in Ariyalur, but it was later closed as undetected. The idol wing CID of Tamil Nadu later launched a fresh investigation.The wing combed through the websites of art galleries worldwide and stumbled upon the Hanuman idol on the website of the Christie’s Museum in New York, US. The inquiry revealed that the idol was auctioned and owned by a US citizen and a private art collector residing in Australia. Due to the idol wing’s persistent efforts, the private collector agreed to hand over the idol to the Australian government, and it was given to the Indian high commissioner in Canberra, Australia, in February 2022.The idol reached India in March, after which ADGP Shailesh Kumar Yadav met with the director general of ASI to discuss the handover process.
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