On the run for 3 years, priest held in Rs 77 crore idol theft case

Idol Wing officers said that he was arrested in connection with the case registered in May 2015 when the sleuths unearthed eight idols in Mambalam. The idols, dated between 10th and 13th centuries, were valued around Rs 77 crore. The officers have also arrested Sekhar, a cinema director, and production manager Dhanalingam.

So far, the police have arrested as many as 15 people in the case; Jayakumar is the 16th suspect in the case, added sources.

After nabbing him, Idol Wing sleuths said Jayakumar, a temple priest, was one of the main suspects in the case. They suspect him of planning to leave for some foreign country to escape the law. “We arrested him based on an input from a member of public,” a senior Idol Wing officer said. At that time, police had seized idols of Perumal, Siva and Parvathi on a single pedestal; Parvathi, and Umayal Parameshwari idols that belong to 10th century; and Vishnu, Sridevi, Boodevi and Chakrathalwar idols from the 13th century. The Idol Wing sleuths said that the seized idols were stolen from temples in Vandavasi in Tiruvannamalai district.

Interestingly this idol smuggling network is not linked to Subhash Kapoor, the international idol smuggler, who is currently lodged in Puzhal jail. He was produced before Kumbakonam Court and remanded in judicial custody till July 4.