Idol case: Ranvir Shah, Amethyst staff summoned to Kumbakonam

Ranvir Shah was in the news after Idol Wing sleuths seized over 220 artefacts from his house in Saidapet and two farms in Kancheepuram district during raids conducted in the last couple of weeks. Though he was instructed to appear last week, Shah did not turn up but instead sent his lawyer who said the businessman was in northern India to do the rites for his late father.

With the investigators summoning Shah and others for questioning to Kumbakonam, more action is expected there on Tuesday.

Sources said that the possibility of Shah appearing before the police team was very slim because he is expected to return to Chennai only after October 10. 

A police team led by inspector general AG Ponn Manickavel has been working overtime to seize the artefacts, many of them believed to be antique in nature, and nail those suspected to be involved in raiding the temples under various guises.

The case received a fresh impetus when the team traced and dug out 23 stone carvings that were buried in the garden of a guest house in the posh Poes Garden locality, which belonged to KCP Sugars & Industries Corporation Ltd.

The seized stone carvings were hidden on orders from Kiran Rao, owner of Amethyst Café and director on the KPC board. Shah is a director on the board.

Other than Rao, the Idol Wing team are keen on questioning the staff of the café after coming to know from a man named Renit Tyson, former manager of Amethyst, who is now in jail for allegedly trying to extort money from Rao on the threat of blackmail.