CHENNAI: The idol wing team headed by IG Pon Manikavel on Sunday searched businessman Ranvir Shah's office at Guindy and found six stone idols. Officials said they will soon be taking action to arrest Ranvir Shah.
The Idol wing police had seized more than 90 idols from the actor and industrialist Ranvir Shah's house in Saidapet on September 27 and 130 more idols were seized from his farmhouses in Kulangancheri and Mogalvadi in Kancheepuram on October 2.
Following the latest raid at his Guindy office, Idol Wing DSP Sundaram told the media, “Six statues stolen from Tamil Nadu temples were hidden there. They are all statues that were used in temple processions. We got information that there were plans to smuggle these idols to his associate in Gujarat. So we got a search warrant from the Kumbakonam court.”
Idol wing additional DSP, Ashok Natrajan said the idols are over 400 years old and many of the idols don't seized don't have the necessary documentation.
However, Ranvir Shah's advocate Thangaraj said that the businessman has done nothing illegal. Both Ranvir Shah and his friend Kiran Rao have already filed for anticipatory bail. “There is no question of arresting him when the anticipatory bail warrant is pending in court. We have the necessary papers to prove ownership of all these idols and statues,” he added.
