CHENNAI:Gangs of thieves, possibly in collusion with cartels of international art smugglers, made away with no fewer than 1,200 ancient idols from temples in Tamil Nadu in a 25-year period between 1992 and 2017.
A recent audit by the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department reveals that the idol wing of the state police is yet to trace at least 350 of these idols.
The scale of the loss has given fresh impetus to the department’s efforts to enhance security for idols in temples across the state.
Officials of the department told TOI that private collectors and galleries from across the world are probably in possession of the missing idols. “Central agencies and the Tamil Nadu police are working to track down and recover the idols,” an official said, adding that cartels with global links probably took most of these artefacts out of the country.
One reason for the department to suspect that international syndicates could be responsible for the thefts is, of course, the fact that former Manhattan art dealer
Subhash Kapoor, in custody since 2012, led the biggest idol smuggling racket from Tamil Nadu that investigators have busted so far.
Strong rooms in TN temples to get more secure, say officialsKapoor sold the stolen idols to individual collectors and museums far and wide, including National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, which acknowledged that was in possession of at least four
artefacts from the state
.
“We have retrieved 18 ancient idols so far and have been able to locate 50 others,” an HR&CE official said.
To prevent further theft, the department, which has administrative control of 36,595 temples, has begun collecting data of security features of strong rooms in shrines where administrators keep idols. The strong rooms are equipped with
security cameras and burglar alarms
, the official said, adding that nearly 11,500 temples in the state now have strong rooms that can effectively prevent theft.
“We put in place security features in the temples based on suggestions by police officers,” he said. “Priests perform puja with
stone idols
every day and lock up the ancient icons for safety, using them only once a year during processions and festivals.”
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