2 held, 300-year-old stolen Anjaneya idol recovered

Trichy: Idol wing CID of the state police has arrested two people and recovered an antique Anjaneya idol stolen from Thenupuriswarar temple at Patteeswaram near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district on Friday. A team led by ADSP G Balamurugan arrested S Neelakantan, 30, and his accomplice, V Manikandan, 32, and recovered the idol from the house of one of them.Patteeswaram police had booked a case of burglary of Anjaneya stone idol from the temple run by Hindu religious and charitable endowment (HR&CE) department, on the night of October 20, 2019. The 10kg idol was 29 cm tall and 23 cm wide. The case was transferred to idol wing CID on October 5, 2020. Since there was no progress in investigation, idol wing DGP K Jayanth Murali formed a new team under ADSP Balamurugan a couple of months ago. Sub-inspector Thandayuthapani and the team analysed CCTV footage of the temple from the beginning of 2019. On noting suspicious movements of two people, they downloaded their picture and launched a search for them. A man resembling one of the suspects was picked up from Kumbakonam bypass and questioned by the wing on December 22. Identified as Neelakantan, he confessed to the crime and said Manikandan was also involved. Manikandan was arrested in Vellore on Friday. ADSP Balamurugan said that based on his confession, the special team searched the house of Neelakantan and seized the Hanuman idol. The expert who examined the idol said it was 300 years old and installed by the Nayaka kings in the 1,000-year-old Thenupuriswarar temple. The duo had meticulously planned and executed the burglary for earning crores of rupees in the overseas market by shipping it abroad, said the idol wing.
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