It was found that there is a fake idol of Nataraja in the temple.

Chennai. The idol of Lord Nataraja, which was stolen 62 years ago from Arulmigu Vedapureeswarar temple in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, has been found in New York, USA. The idol cell of the Crime Investigation Branch (CID) of Tamil Nadu Police gave this information on Monday.

Some thieves stole the idol by breaking into the 2,000-year-old Arulmigu Vedapureeswarar temple administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. On September 1, following a complaint by S Venkatachalam of Tiruvedhikudi village, the Idol Cell of the CID launched an investigation, when it was found that the Nataraja idol in the temple was fake and the original idol was missing.

The investigation team then asked for the original photographs of the idol from the Indo-French Institute in Puducherry. After getting the original photographs of the idol, the Idol Cell of the CID started searching the websites of various museums, artifact collectors’ brochures and auction houses.

After searching, the team found the original idol of Lord Nataraja at the Asia Society Museum in New York. According to an official release issued by the idol cell of CID, efforts are being made to bring back the idol under the UNESCO agreement. After bringing it here, the idol will be restored in the temple. It is also being ascertained whether the idols have been stolen anywhere else from the temple.