N Ramesh By

Express News Service

THANJAVUR: The IDOL wing of the police has achieved a breakthrough with the recovery of rare early 11th-century bronze idols of Periyaperumal (Raja Raja I), and Logamadeviyar (the queen of Raja Raja I) which were stolen 50 years ago from the Thanjavur Big temple. The idols had found their way to the Calico Museum of the Sarabhai Foundation in Ahmedabad.

Sources said the Raja Raja Chola I idol measuring two and a half feet in height is valued at more than Rs 100 crore and the two-feet high idol of his queen, Logamadeviyar, is valued at Rs 50 crore.

The idol wing police led by Inspector-General of Police Pon Manickavel recovered the idols within three months of registering a case. Though it was widely known the two bronzes were on exhibit at the museum all these years, their recovery was elusive. On September 6, 2010, then Minister of School Education and Archaeology of Tamil Nadu, Thangam Thennarasu, led a delegation of officers and met then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi requesting the transfer of these idols on the eve of the 1,000th year of the construction of the Thanjavur Big temple. But the idols were not returned.

Meanwhile, with the high court ordering the transfer of all cases of idol theft in the State to the idol wing, Manickavel was tasked with leading the wing and many old cases were reopened. After a preliminary enquiry, the idol wing police registered a case of theft of these idols in the first week of March this year.

Manickavel entrusted the investigation of the case to Rajaram, additional superintendent of police of the idol wing. The investigation revealed the idols had been stolen by one-time temple officials and sold to Gautam Sarabhai in Chennai through Rao Bahadur Srinivasa Gopalachari of Sarukkai village in Thanjavur.

Armed with the evidence, the team led by Manickavel reached Ahmedabad on Monday. The following day, the team conducted an enquiry at the Calico Museum of the Sarabhai Foundation and produced evidence the bronzes kept there were indeed the ones stolen from the Thanjavur Big temple. The two idols were handed over to the police by Calico Museum authorities.

Idols to reach on Thursday

The two idols were handed over to the police by Calico Museum authorities. The idols are expected to reach Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday