A rare 19th century painting of Raja Serfoji and his son Sivaji, which was stolen from Saraswathi Mahal, Thanjavur, a few years ago has been traced by Idol Wing CID police to the Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts, USA. The painting was purchased in 2006 from an international antique dealer Subash Kapoor who was arrested by the State police in 2011 on charges of smuggling several antiques/artefacts.
Director General of Police,(DGP) Idol Wing CID K. Jayanth Murali told The Hindu, "The rare painting was reportedly stolen years ago. But a complaint was lodged only recently. We have traced the painting in the U.S. and registered a case against Subash Kapoor who is the mastermind behind the theft. We will take him into custody to identify the other accused involved in the offence."
Originally, Idol Wing CID received a complaint from Elephant G. Rajendran in 2017 about the disappearance of the painting of Raja Serfoji and his son Sivaji from Saraswathi Mahal. After the registration of a case, the Idol Wing CID took up investigation. There was no breakthrough in the investigation initially and later the investigation was expedited by the officers led by Mr. Murali.
