Ex-HR and CE commissioner gets bail in idol theft case

Justice N Anand Venkatesh who granted him bail, said “Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances and also taking into consideration the position that was held by this petitioner and the incarceration already suffered by him, this court is of the considered view that bail can be granted in this case.”

The judge also noted that the additional commissioner, who too was arrested by the Sivakanchi Police in the same case, was granted bail by the High Court on August 7, 2018.

The prosecution alleged that there was a deep seated common criminal conspiracy hatched in secrecy among HR&CE officials, including Veera Shanmugamoni, to surreptitiously remove the 1,600-year antique Panchaloka idols of Somaskander and Elavaarkulali Amman from the Ekambareshwarar Sivan Temple in Kancheepuram and have it clandestinely replaced over the years with the newly made modern replica.

Based on this, a decision was taken in 2015 to make both the Panchaloka idols in a prescribed composition, the fund for which was collected through contributions.

As per the proposal, the idols should have had 8.7 kg of gold in the total metal composition, which worked out to Rs 2.82 crores in 2015. But when the newly made idols were sent for expert opinion to IIT Madras, it was found that they did not contain any gold component.

The prosecution contended that Veera Shanmugamoni as the HR&CE commissioner along with the additional commissioner in-charge should have ensured that the two new idols contained a minimum of 8.7 kgs of gold in the total metal composition. This was the fourth offence that has been detected in this temple, the prosecution added.

However, Veera Shanmugamoni’s counsel submitted that during his tenure as commissioner, nearly 38,000 temples were under the control of the department. As the HR&CE commissioner, the petitioner had granted approval on the administrative side, and he could not have involved himself in the nitty-gritties.

He also submitted that the petitioner should have been summoned for inquiry if any details were required from him, and added that there was absolutely no need for the police to resort to arrest.