CHENNAI, INDIA, December 23, 2018 (Deccan Chronicle): Drawing flak from various quarters for not doing much in recovering the statues stolen from the ancient temples, the statue wing police on Saturday thwarted an attempt to sell a Panchaloha statue of Lord Murugan, said to be stolen from a temple in Nemili village near Arakkonam, and arrested a man from Guindy.
The statue, which weighs nearly 7.7 lbs. was about to be sold to for over US$143,000 and it was kept at a lathe shop at Ekkattuthangal in Guindy here. Following a tip off, at around 2 pm, statue Wing Special Officer IG Pon Manickavel, ASP Rajaram, DSP Sundaram, Head constables: Venkatesan, Natarajan, Samiyappan, Arul moses and constables Praveen Mohan and Karthik raided the workshop at Ekkattuthangal and recovered the statue of Lord Muruga. Sivakumar, the lathe owner who was arrested, would be taken to Kumbakonam to be produced before the special court for statue theft cases. About three persons were planning to sell the statue.