Summary:
TRICHY: After 47 years, the idol wing police have registered a case in connection with a theft of seven panchaloha idols worth Rs 110 crore from the Natanapureeswarar temple near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district . The remaining idols are being kept safely at an icon centre in the Uppiliappan temple in the district. So, for the past 47 years, the case was pending without an FIR being registered, the idol wing police said.Inscriptions on the temple are now in the Saraswathi Mahal Library in Thanjavur, police said. Even appeals to successive Prime Ministers went futile. However, Vasu Iyer had stated in his complaint that many of the stolen idols had been replaced with fake ones over a period, the statement said.The idol wing police has entrusted the responsibility of ascertaining the genuineness of the idols to an expert team of the archaeological department.Meanwhile, a special officer appointed by the Madras high court inspected the temple..