Chennai: Three idols of Hindu deities Nataraja, Veend Hara Siva, and Vishnu, allegedly worth as much as Rs 12 crore, were recovered from Suffren Road in Puducherry on Tuesday by officials of the Idol Wing of CID, led by ADC Tr P Ashok Natarajan. According to police, the idols were previously in possession of Joseph Colombani of Puducherry, but no legal documents regarding the ownership was available at the premises.
These idols are believed to be more than 600 years old and are strongly suspected to have been stolen from Hindu temples prior to 1980. The idols are said to be belonging to the transition period between Chola and Vijayanagara Dynasty. The value of the Nataraj idol, two feet in height and weighing 23 kgs, was estimated to be Rs 6 crore, while the two others approximately were priced at Rs 3 crore each.
During the course of investigation, it also came to light that the accused had previously made an attempt to smuggle the idol to France, but could not succeed.
