Chennai: Idol wing sleuths have issued summons to octogenarian Deenadayalan from whose house antiques, including ancient idols worth over Rs 40 crore were seized, to appear before them by Thursday. While the raid at the house continued on the second consecutive day, officials pasted the summons on his residence, which also doubled up as a transit point for smuggled idols.
“Note that there is a credible information as per Idol Wing CID crime no 2/2016 that you had committed a cognizable offence and hence you are directed to appear before the undersigned,” reads the summons pasted on the palatial bungalow located on Murrays Gate Road on Kasturi Ranga Salai, Alwarpet.
Given the age of the prime suspect Deenadayalan, officials are mulling the option of extending time for him to turn up for interrogation.
Three of his aides who were in process of packing the idols, to be sent to Mumbai as genuine art works, were arrested on Tuesday and were remanded to Judicial custody.
Deenadayalan reportedly played an active role in smuggling Ardhanarishwarar stone idol from Virudhagereeswarar temple, Vriddhachalam. In 2004, Subash Chandra Kapoor, international idol smuggler, sold it for three million US dollars to Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Due to major haul of idols, sleuths could produce only a few idols before a court here. Officials were taking steps to move the seized idols to Icon Centre of HR & CE department at Tiruvottriyur. HR&CE has Icon Centres where icons and valuable articles of temples are kept in safe custody.
