3 months ago
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An antique chromatic pillar, perchance stolen from a temple successful Tamil Nadu, has been traced to Vienna successful Austria.
Following an alert from Austrian authorities, the Idol Wing-CID of the Tamil Nadu Police has launched steps to bring backmost the pillar, said to beryllium from the 18th to 19th century.
The officers of the IW-CID person been moving to retrieve stolen idols and artefacts from wrong the state arsenic good arsenic abroad. During the people of their work, Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police, G. Balamurugan, received accusation that an antique chromatic pillar, astir fractional a tonne successful value and featuring a bas-relief (embossed sculpture) of a deity, perchance Lord Vishnu, Garuda, a saint, and a hamsa (swan), had been seized by the Austrian instrumentality enforcing agency.
The IW-CID received photographs of the pillar from the Federal Ministry of Interior Criminal Intelligence Service, Cultural Property Unit, Austria.
“It appears that the pillar was stolen from a temple successful Tamil Nadu,” Additional Director General of Police, Idol Wing, D. Kalpana Nayak, said.
Owing to the communal quality of the pillar (found successful galore temples successful Tamil Nadu), its nonstop provenance could not beryllium located.
The curator of the IW-CID examined the photos and recovered that the pillar was made of airy buff granite artifact usually recovered successful north-western regions of Tamil Nadu (Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri belt) oregon adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu specified arsenic Kolar territory of Karnataka oregon Chittoor territory of Andhra Pradesh. The curator said it could beryllium besides from tiny mandapas (pillared halls), which are usually erected successful beforehand of the main shrine, arsenic a smaller temple for Nandhi and Garuda.
Such four-pillared mandapas were besides constructed successful villages for assorted purposes, but were fundamentally connected with temple festivals. They are antiquities arsenic defined by the Antiquity and Art Treasures Act, 1972.
The IW-CID said that connected October 30, 2025, this was communicated to officers of the Federal Ministry of Interior Criminal Intelligence Service, Cultural Property Unit, Austria, and the Embassy of India successful Vienna. They replied that they were acceptable to commencement the process of restitution.
