10 yrs on, man wanted in idol case held near Nepal border

According to the idol wing police, in 2009, as many as 31 idols went missing from the Rani Mangammal Museum located near the Rockfort here. The Fort police registered a case and were on a look-out for the absconder and the missing idols.

However, after Inspector General of Police AG Pon Manickavel took charge, the case was transferred to the Idol Wing police. Then on, the idol wing team accelerated the investigation. Based on elaborate investigations, the idol wing police arrested four persons, Sathish Kumar (47), Anandan (44), Siva (47), all from Karaikudi and Siva Chidambaram (49) from Tirupattur. The police also recovered as many as 21 idols worth Rs 5 crore from their possession.

During the interrogation with the arrested persons, the idol wing police found out that five more persons were involved in the offence. They also learnt that the network spread across the nation and all the five accused were staying in the other states.

Meanwhile, a few days back, the idol wing police received a lead that one of the prime accused in the case, Ramkumar (35) was hiding in UP. Immediately, the team rushed to UP but by then he left the spot. Finally, the team zeroed him down at Indo-Nepal border and nabbed him from Sonali on late Thursday.

Following the arrest, the police along with Ramkumar headed to Kumbakonam special court. According to sources, the accused is likely to be produced before the special court by Saturday night or on Sunday early hours. Also, sources revealed that the police have acquired major information from Ramkumar and the case may take new turns once he is interrogated under their custody.