Archived files link Dheenadayalan to Rs 15 crore idol deal

Chennai: Digging deep into the archive files of Idol wing unit of TN police, the sleuths found that antique dealer Dheenadayalan (84), arrested last month in Chennai, was one of the suspects in an idol case reported 11years ago in Palavoor in Tirunelveli. He was part of the network that stole and tried to smuggle out 13 metal idols including a Nataraja idol valued at around Rs 15 crore.

At that time, Dheenadayalan managed to avoid custodial interrogation and also got anticipatory bail when the police caught up with other suspects. "We will be digging deep into the case," idol wing sources said adding that inspector general police A G Pon Manickavel has taken up the case and is investigating the old case himself. The case is pending in a Srivilliputhur court.

The gang had negotiated with a foreign buyer to sell the Nataraja idol for Rs 15 crore but before they could seal the deal the police started making arrests. The gang is believed to have stolen the idols on the night of June 18, 2005 after entering the 6th century Narambunathaswamy temple as devotees. They hid themselves inside the temple till midnight and later escaped with 13 idols.

A year later, idol wing cops, who were investigating the case, arrested Arunachalam and Shajahan and recovered 5 idols from them in Madurai. Months later in May 2007, the police arrested two more suspects named 'Saudi' Murugan and Balaji.

The arrested men told the police they committed the thefts believing that all the idols were made of gold and they could not find any gold inside the idols after some were cut into pieces.

Dheenadayalan had purchased some idols and police recovered 4 of them from his shop in July 2007. He had negotiated with a foreign buyer to sell the Nataraja idol for Rs 15 crore. Though Dheenadayalan was booked in that case, his role was not fully probed. With the idol wing reinvestigating the case now, more skeletons are expected to tumble out of Dheenadayalan's cupboard.