Venu Srinivasan, the 65-year-old scion of the TVS Group of industries in Tamil Nadu is facing one of the toughest battles in his life. It has nothing to do with the manufacture and sale of the famous brand of two-wheelers and auto-components manufactured in the companies owned him. The Idol Wing-CID of Tamil Nadu Police led by A G Pon Manickavel, Inspector General of Police, is investigating the theft of an idol from Kapaleeswarar Temple at Mylapore, an important landmark in Chennai. Srinivasan approached the Madras High Court on Thursday expressing a reasonable fear of arrest and pleaded that he be granted anticipatory bail.
The Idol Wing-CID told the court on Friday that they do not intend to arrest Srinivasan for the next six weeks and the Division Bench of Justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavalu adjourned the hearing by six weeks. The case is in connection with the theft of the idol of Goddess Karpagambal in the form of a peacock performing Pooja for lord Kapaleeswarar.
Though the assurance by the police brought some relief for the industrialist, his woes would continue as Rangarajan Narasimhan, a Vedic scholar in Tiruchirappalli has filed a case in Madras High Court alleging Srinivasan and others for removing many ancient idols, antique materials and artefacts from the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srinagam. The court after hearing the petition on Thursday asked Pon Manickavel to hold a preliminary inquiry and submit a detailed report in six weeks.
Srinivasan is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of this ancient temple. The court ordered I G Pon Manickavel to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the missing properties mentioned by Rangarajan Narasimhan in his complaint. The Idol Wing CID was also asked to submit a detailed report to the court within six months. The Madras High Court is already hearing a series of petitions filed by Temple Worshippers Society and another lawyer about thefts which have taken place in the Tamil Nadu Government administered temples, the magnitude of which could be more than Rs 1,00,000 crore according to T R Ramesh, president, Temple Worshippers Society of Tamil Nadu.
Narasimhan (40), told The Pioneer from Srirangam that a number of improprieties have been committed by the powers that be that administer the Ranganathaswamy Temple. “The Utsav Idol (the idol which is taken out during temple procession), the precious stones and the salagramams that adored the main deity are missing. There are 56 shrines in the 157 acre land of the temple in addition to the main shrine. All antique doors made of exotic wood, many sculptures and unblemished granite pavements of the temple are missing,” he said.
Hough the temple authorities and HECE officials claimed that the materials have been kept in the safe rooms of the temple, the petitioner said it was not correct. “Two years ago, the trustees ordered the excavation of the temple land. More than 60,000 tonnes of soil was removed from the premises. The Archaeological Survey of India is the only agency in the country which has the authority to excavate. Under whose orders the excavation of the temple land was doneij” asked Narasimhan who has collected a series of information under the RTI Act. He said the excavation done by the temple trustees was nothing but treasure hunt.
