Five feet tall goddess idol seized in TN

It was kept concealed in the house.The idol appeared to belong to a temple and it is not customary in Tamil Nadu to worship idols of such height in houses.

A five feet idol of Goddess Sivakami, said to belong to the later Chola era, was seized from a house in Swamimalai near Kumbakonam, the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID said on Wednesday.

A team from the Idol Wing, which initiated a search at a house in Swamimalai in Thanjavur district, on December 24, found a huge metal idol of Goddess Sivakami, about 165 cm in height, 45 cm wide, and weighing 130 kg. It was kept concealed in the house.

''The idol appeared to belong to a temple and it is not customary in Tamil Nadu to worship idols of such height in houses. The idol was seized as the house owner could not produce documents claiming ownership of the idol,'' Idol Wing DGP K Jayanth Murali said.

Experts, who examined the idol opined that it belonged to the later Chola period. The Idol Wing would be able to confirm the idol's proper antiquity only after its examination by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), he said in a release here.

The raid was conducted after receiving reliable information that a person concealed the idol in his house and was trying to peddle it.