Muruga idol seizure: One held in Kanniyakumari

The suspects had allegedly stolen the idol, weighing about 3 kg, dating back to 1,000 AD from a temple at Nemili near Arakkonam three years ago. The Idol Wing on Tuesday said that Mukesh was nabbed from his hideout in Kanniyakumari on Monday and he was produced before the special court for idol theft cases in Kumbakonam on Tuesday. 

A team of Idol Wing sleuths, consisting additional superintendent of police Rajaram, deputy superintendent of police Azhagu Sundaram and others, were monitoring Mukesh before nabbing him on Monday. 

On December 23, 2018, a team comprising special officer AG Pon Manickavel and DSP Sundaram raided the lathe workshop at Ekkaduthangal and recovered the idol. Sivakumar, who was running the workshop, was arrested on that day. The police said one Desikan Adigal from Nemili village, Mukesh from Kanniyakumari and Ismail, a tea shop owner from Kirumambakkam in Puducherry, were planning to sell the idol for Rs 1 crore, when the police nabbed them. Ismail Bai was also arrested by the police.