An idol of Lord Hanuman, which was stolen nearly a decade ago from Ariyalur district and auctioned off, has now been recovered.
The statue, which was kept in Australia, was returned to Indian High Commissioner Manpreet Vohra at Canberra, Australia. Australian Chargé d'Affaires Michael Goldman returned the 500-year-old artefact.
A senior official of the Idol Wing said the statue was stolen from the Varadharaja Perumal temple of Velur village on the night of April 9, 2012. Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajaram identified the statue which was on sale at an auction website.
The Idol Wing initiated the Mutual Legal Assistance for Repatriation for recovering the artefact with the assistance of the U.S. Homeland Security after getting an expert opinion from Nagasamy, Special Officer and the Director in-charge of the Archaeological Survey of India, and the French Institute of Pondicherry.
The idol will be brought to the country within a month and handed over to the Idol Wing. It will be restored to the temple from where it was stolen, the official added.
