https://www.thehindu.com/news/natio...industrialist-for-3-weeks/article25000289.ece
Court records govt.’s submission
The High Court on Thursday recorded the submission of the Idol Wing CID that it required three more weeks to reply to anticipatory bail applications filed by industrialist , sculptor and others in the
Mylapore peacock idol missing case and undertook not to arrest them till then.
A Division Bench of Justices recorded the submission made by a government advocate and adjourned further hearing on the advance bail applications by three weeks.
The judges were told that the police officials had obtained
certain statements from the ‘archakas’ (priests) of the temple.
Time sought
Those statements had to be corroborated with documents from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and it was taking time to obtain them, the government advocate said.
Later, they adjourned by two weeks another petition seeking registration of a case with respect to
alleged missing of artefacts from the Sri Ranganthaswamy temple in Srirangam.
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CHENNAI , July 21, 2018 01:07 IST
Updated: July 21, 2018 01:07 IST
The Chief Justice, has constituted a special Division Bench of Justices to hear cases related to theft of ancient idols. To begin with, the Bench will hear a case related to the alleged theft of artefacts from the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tiruchi, starting next Wednesday (July 25).
Justice made the disclosure during the hearing of a case filed by petitioner of Srirangam, seeking a direction to the Idol Wing of the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, to probe his complaint regarding the
theft of idols, doors made of exotic wood, kalasams, sculptures, granite pavements and other treasures.
Senior counsel , representing the temple management, said that every other artefact which the petitioner had referred to in his complaint was available intact in the temple, and that the allegation of theft was baseless. He accused the petitioner of attempting to gain publicity through the media by making reckless allegations and getting a case registered.
However, on his part, the petitioner told the judge that his life was under threat for having filed the case. Petitioner claimed to have received a phone call from a known person, who threatened to kill him. Stating that petitioner had lodged a police complaint with regard to the phone call too, he said, “The more the delay in deciding this case, the greater the threat to my life.”
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, on its part, filed a detailed counter affidavit, refuting the allegation of theft of artefacts from the Ranganathaswamy Temple. In the counter, the department’s Joint Commissioner (Legal) said the Srirangam police had conducted a preliminary investigation into the petitioner’s complaint last year.
No prima facie case
After obtaining details from the temple management, the police had come to a conclusion that no
prima facie case was made out for registration of a First Information Report. Further, providing specific details, the Joint Commissioner said that it was wrong to claim that the
Namperumal Utsavar idol in the temple was replaced with a similar looking idol.
“No Utsavar idol in the temple was replaced with a similar looking idol. It is submitted that the idol is under the care and custody of the
Archakas, Paricharakas, Araiyars etc, and worshipped by the Hindu general public from morning to night. The idol gets wear and tear (sic) due to constant
Tirumanjanam with various ingredients and liquids. Therefore,
the Lepakaryam was carried out in accordance with the Agamas and Shilpa Sastra on the written request of the Archakas after getting due permission from the Commissioner. The allegation that the Urchavar Namperumal idol has been replaced is sheer imagination of the petitioner,” the counter affidavit read.
It went on to state that the
stone idol of Sri Purushothama Perumal was lying on the parapet wall at Sri Chakkarathazhwar Sannidhi without any Peedam or Pradhista. So, during the renovation work,
the idols were installed in the 1,000-pillar mandapam, and daily puja was being performed on them at the new location.
Many other stone sculptures that were strewn around the temple complex were also collected and shifted to the 1,000-pillar
mandapam, along with the old doors, which were removed because they were in a dilapidated state. None of the
Kalasams were removed, and they were only polished during the consecration, department’s Joint Commissioner (Legal) said.
Stating that the renovation work carried out under the chairmanship of eminent industrialist and philanthropist had received worldwide appreciation, the Joint Commissioner said the temple had been recognised with the Award of Merit, 2017, during the UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Garuda with 4 hands- A unique Feature
The inscriptions in the temple belong to the
Chola,
Pandya,
Hoysala and
Vijayanagar dynasties who ruled over the region. These inscriptions range in date between the 9th and 16th centuries
During the period of invasion and plunder by the mongol forces , the Ala ud Din Khilji's Muslim general
Malik Kafur and his
Delhi Sultanate forces in 1311 , the Arabic texts of the period stated that mongol forces raided a "golden temple" on river, destroyed the temple and took the plunder with the golden idol of the deity. The Tamil texts that followed offer various inconsistent legends on how the temple regained the Vishnu idol. According to one found in
Koil Oluku, a young girl had vowed to fast till she had seen the idol.She followed the Delhi army as it returned with the loot back to Delhi.The Delhi Army Commander bring the idol from Delhi to Srirangam on a horse, symbolizing that love brought back the icon after war had taken it away by Mongol Forces.
In the early 14th Century, India was subjected to repeated invasions by mongol armies, in 1311 CE was led by
Malik Kafur, Following this there were two more expeditions from the Delhi Sultanate - the second in 1314 CE, the third in 1323 CE
These invasions shattered the Pandyan empire beyond revival. While the previous invasions were content with plunder, Ulugh Khan annexed the former Pandyan dominions, India came under the Delhi's rule and military was deployed from five provinces - Devagiri, Tiling,
Kampili,
Dorasamudra and Ma'bar against the Mongol Forces.
The Chagatay Khan (whom Ibn Battuta visited on his way to India) had invaded India and threatened Delhi, the new capital city about 1323. But the armies of the feisty Sultan Muhammad Tughluq in Delhi had chased them back across the Indus River.