An attempt to cover up cases, charges MDMK, BJP

“For thousands of years, Tamil kings had built temples and installed idols in them, but they are being sold for several crores of rupees in India and other countries. Justice Mahadevan of the Madras High Court realised the importance of the case and handed it over to DIG Pon Manickavel known for his integrity, capability and courage. The state appealed against the HC order delaying the investigation by 70 days,” he said.

Pon Manickavel went to several places accompanied only by a few policemen to keep the investigation a secret. He had recovered eight idols belonging to the Brahadeeswarar Temple and retrieved an idol worth Rs 150 crore from the Australian museum. He also found out six idols belonging to Virudhagireeswarar Temple in Virudhachalam in Indo-Nepal Art Centre, besides bringing back the idol of queen Sembianmadevi,  Vaiko said.  The state’s petition in the court to transfer the idol theft case to CBI raises doubts, he noted.

Coming out with similar views, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed surprise over the sudden transfer of the case to the CBI citing the reason that the investigation was not satisfactory. In a short time, Pon Manickavel had found out several irregularities and retrieved several idols. The sudden decision is aimed at protecting someone she alleged and said the transfer of the case is an attempt to disrupt the investigations. Questioning if the government did not have faith in its own police, she said the state refusing to cooperate for the investigation and opposing it raises many doubts on whether the state is trying to save somebody.

However, AIADMK spokesperson Vaigaiselvan said Pon Manickavel was not functioning to the satisfaction of the state and did not submit regular statements about the investigation to the government.