The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing has traced a dancing Krishna idol, stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple 56 years ago, to a museum in the USA. The Director General of Police of the Idol Wing (DGP), Jayanth Murali in a statement said that the idol was traced at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana. The idol which was stolen from Ekantha Ramaswamy temple, Thangachimadam village in Rameswaram.
The idol wing police commenced an investigation on receiving a complaint from G Narayani, Executive Officer, Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department on November 22 this year. In the complaint, the executive officer stated that three or more idols, including an antique Krishna idol belonging to the temple, were burgled in 1966.The executive officer requested the Tamil Nadu idol wing to conduct an investigation and retrieve the idols back to the temple.
However, the investigating officers of the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing could not find any pictures of the antique Krishna idol and the police sent a request to the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) to provide any images it had in its photo records from the Ekantha Ramaswamy temple. The French Institute of Puducherry, according to the statement from the Idol Wing, sent six digital images from their photo archives and found the dancing Krishna idol.
The Idol Wing, while combing through various websites of museums and galleries, found the idol of Dancing Krishna similar to the IFP photo displayed on the website of the Indianapolis museum in Indiana. The photo was downloaded and sent along with the IFP photo to an expert for comparison, who concluded that the two photographs are of one and the same idol. The Idol Wing then prepared documentary proof and claimed ownership of the Krishna idol. The police would soon be filing a detailed report to the US for retrieving the idol and restoring it to Ekantha Ramaswamy temple.