Idol wing conducts 3-hour inspection at Big Temple

A team comprising of 50 policemen led by three inspectors went to the temple and asked the devotees to leave around 1.30 pm. The Rajarajan entrance at the second prakaram of the temple was closed. Subsequently, the team conducted a detailed inquiry with the staff and the priests.

Around 2 pm, Inspector General Pon Manickavel and ADSPs Rajaram and Madhavan arrived at the temple. They proceeded to the Arthamandapam, where several idols were safely kept. Pon Manickavel inspected all the idols and then visited the Natarajar Sannidhi.

The inspection, which commenced around 2 pm, lasted till 5 pm. Since it was a weekend, many devotees were present at the temple.

However, they were not allowed inside the Arthamandapam and Natarajar Sannnidhi until the team left.

Later, speaking to mediapersons, ADSP Rajaram said several cases were registered based on complaints of missing and replacement of idols.

Stating that the police team examined several ancient idols in the temple, he said, “We have found Tamil letters inscribed on some idols recently. We will conduct a detailed investigation into the issue.”

Meanwhile, the ADSP said a detailed report on the recent recovery of idols belonging to Rajarajan I (Periyaperumal) and his consort Logamadeviyar would soon be submitted to the court.

The idols of Rajarajan I and Logamadeviyar, which had gone missing from the Big Temple about 60 years back, were traced to a museum in Gujarat.

They were brought back on June 1 by the idol wing police. The idols, kept at Arthamandapam, are being protected round-the-clock by armed police personnel since then.