Ahmedabad museum: Recover ‘stolen’ idols

The Madras high court on Thursday directed the Sarabhai Foundation in Ahmedabad to file its reply to an affidavit seeking a direction to the Investigation team of the Idol wing, headed by IG Pon Manickavel, to seize all the 36 idols, 3 bronze lamps and 8 artefacts lying in the museum of the Sarabhai Foundation.

According to petitioner, he had visited the museum and saw number of antique idols of Hindu deities kept there. The Sarabhai Foundation filed a petition before this court in which it admitted that it was keeping 36 bronze idols, 3 bronze lamps and 8 different stone artefacts in the museum.

Sarabhai Foundation admitted that these idols belong to Tamil Nadu. It also claimed that these idols were purchased from Govindasamynathan, the then Advocate General of Madras State in 1940 through a sale agreement. It was completely a false statement, deliberately made by Sarabhai Foundation, because there was no advocate general by name Govindasamynathan in 1940, he added.