Chennai: Three antique idols, including one of Kalinganarthana Krishna, stolen from a temple in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu have been traced to museums/ auction houses in the USA, the Idol Wing CID said.
The bronze idols of Kalinganarthana Krishna, Vishnu, and Sridevi were stolen from Arulmigu Soundararaja Perumal temple, Sundara Perumalkovil village in Kumbakonam, it said.
The idols of Kalinganarthana Krishna, Vishnu, and Sridevi were replaced with fake images at the temple about 60 years ago and this had gone unnoticed all these years, the police said.
While the idol of Kalinganarthana Krishna has been traced to the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA, the idol of Vishnu was located at Kimbell Art Museum, Texas and that of Sridevi was traced to the Hills Auction Gallery, Florida, a release said.
During the investigation, P Chandrasekaran, Deputy Superintendent of Police, found that the idol was stolen about 60 to 65 years ago and that it was replaced with a replica.
