It is well-known that Indian idols have great demand in the markets abroad. We often hear stories of some ‘precious’ idols vanishing or being stolen from the temples, especially in various parts of south India. Due to belief in the power of the idols, they often pop up at auctions.
One such idol of goddess Parvati was on sale at Bonham’s auction house recently, and it was identified as a stolen idol. Incidentally, the idol belongs to the Nadanapureshwarar temple at Kumbakonam.
The idol wing of Tamil Nadu immediately sought the help of an archaeologist who said the photograph perfectly matched the one that had gone missing in Kumbakonam. The idol’s photograph was at the French institute in Pondicherry.
Ironically, the idol was stolen in 1971, and temple trustee K Vasu had lodged a complaint in 2019. In 1971, the idols were in the temple, but one day, the temple authorities found that the lock was broken and the idol was missing.
While an FIR was lodged earlier, a case was registered in 2019. The police have begun the process of bringing the idol back to India under the UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention 1972.
