50 years after they were stolen, the antique idols were returned to the American museum The New Indian Express | Catch My Job

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two antique idols stolen from a temple in Tiruvarur area 50 years ago have been recovered by the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID to an American museum. The wing submitted documents to return the idols.

The idols of Yoganarasimha and Ganesha from the Venugopala Swamy Temple in Alathur have been returned to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. They were stolen from the temple around 50 years ago and replaced with fake idols, the wing claimed.

“Based on the findings of our investigation, we have submitted documents proving the state ownership of the idols to the government to forward them to the US so that they can be sent back to Tamil Nadu,” said Idol Wing DGP K. Jayanth Murali.

Murali and Idol Wing IGP R Dhinakaran thanked heritage enthusiast Vijay Kumar for the initial contribution that led to the recovery of the idols. IFP (French Institute of Pondicherry) took pictures of the idols. “Based on these, we started looking for the idols on the websites of various museums,” the press release states.

The Idol Wing came across photos of the Venugopala Swamy temple idols on display at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, he added, and said experts conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that the antique Yoganarasimha and Ganesha idols at the museum are the same as the IFP. had pictures.

</p> <p>CHENNAI: Two antique idols stolen from a temple in Tiruvarur area 50 years ago have been recovered by the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID to an American museum. The wing submitted documents to return the idols. The idols of Yoganarasimha and Ganesha from the Venugopala Swamy Temple in Alathur have been returned to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. They were stolen from the temple around 50 years ago and replaced with fake idols, the wing claimed. “Based on the findings of our investigation, we have submitted documents proving the state ownership of the idols to the government to forward them to the US so that they can be sent back to Tamil Nadu,” said Idol Wing DGP K. Jayanth Murali. Murali and Idol Wing IGP R Dhinakaran thanked heritage enthusiast Vijay Kumar for the initial contribution that led to the recovery of the idols. IFP (French Institute of Pondicherry) took pictures of the idols. “Based on these, we started looking for the idols on the websites of various museums,” the press release states. The Idol Wing came across photos of the Venugopala Swamy temple idols on display at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, he added, and said experts conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that the antique Yoganarasimha and Ganesha idols at the museum are the same as the IFP. had pictures.<br />