CHENNAI: Timely intervention by the Tamil Nadu Police's Idol Wing-CID helped stop the auction in Netherlands of a temple idol stolen 15 years ago from the state. The Kannappa Nayanar metal idol was stolen from Arulmigu Agneeswaraswamy temple, Thirupugalur, Nagapattinam district and a case was registered in Thittachery police station on August 8, 2010 regarding the theft.
The Idol wing CID received information that the Kannappa Nayanar idol was kept at The European Fine Art Exhibition-2025, held at Maastricht in the Netherlands for auction.
"Immediately, Idol Wing CID took up with the Police officials of the Netherlands and officers of Archaeological Survey of India to stop the auction of the Idol. Due to this timely action, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherland and Dutch, took custody of Kannappa Nayanar Idol on March 23, 2025," an official release stated.
According to Tamil Nadu Police, legal procedures have been initiated to repatriate the idol from the Netherlands to India.
Tamil Nadu DGP and Head of Police Force, Shankar Jiwal appreciated the Idol Wing team headed by Additional Director General of Police, D Kalpana Nayak for their efforts.