Ex-idol wing cop IG Pon Manicka Vel has alleged that murtis repatriated from foreign countries are kept in a pitiful state and smuggled again. He also alleged that 197 murtis kept in the idol vaults of HRCE are fake. Even after retirement, he continues to fight for the deities to return to their rightful place.
Pon Manicka Vel, ex-IG of the idol wing in Tamil Nadu, was widely appreciated for his efforts to trace, locate and bring back murtis that were stolen and smuggled to foreign countries. His tenure was over in 2017 but he was superannuated for a year and retired in 2018. Considering his efforts in finding the missing murtis and bringing the culprits to book, the Madras High Court ruled that he will continue to serve as the special officer in the idol wing for a year.
Meanwhile, many attempts were made to transfer him to other departments and tarnish his image. The Tamil Nadu government attempted to transfer him to the Railway department, but the court scuttled it. Vested interests have accused him of abusing power and have taken him to court through one of his colleagues. The court-granted one-year service period is over. But Pon Manicka Vel continues to visit temples and seek information about missing murtis.
Recently when he spoke to the press after inaugurating uzhavarapani(cleaning work) of Tiruvarur Thiagaraja Swamy temple, he alleged that 197 murtis kept in the icon centre, the idol vault of HRCE are fake. “It cost lakhs to construct the safe centre. Not even a mosquito can enter it without officials knowing. But when asked about the non-antique murtis, they say that they were brought without their knowledge. How is that possible?”, he asked. He raised pertinent questions, such as whether the fake murtis were safeguarded in the icon centre before the original murtis went missing or were brought after the originals went missing.
“If the fake ones were brought after the originals went missing, who allowed them inside for a bribe?”, he asked the press and implored them to raise such questions to the concerned authorities as well. He explained why he called them “fake murtis” saying they were not just any artifact but made to resemble the ancient murtis in temples.
HRCE officials have been helping criminals in stealing and smuggling ancient murtis. Even some police have been complicit in this. In 2017, idol wing search revealed that murtis were hidden in a ‘safe centre’, built after demolishing an ancient tunnel, strewn about indifferently in Pandanallur near Kumbakonam. The Madras High Court while hearing a case regarding the issue observed, “In the cases on hand, the erring officials have had a free hand in handling the idols as if it was their private property. Curiously, there is no denial about the existence of the tunnel (as alleged by the petitioner) and stocking (of idols at) the PWD guest house.”
Nine persons, including senior HRCE officials, were booked in this regard for conspiring to smuggle ancient bronze murtis. In 2019, Kader Batcha, Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP) was arrested for colluding with smugglers. With corrupt officials occupying positions in all departments, it would be a surprise only if ancient murtis were given the protection they needed. While the government and cops are ‘appearing to be concerned only about safeguarding the murtis, Pon Manicka Vel campaigns for restoring the murtis to their original places and restarting regular worship.
A few years ago, Hindus of a village near Trichy were distraught after some people claiming to be HRCE officials took the murtis of the village temple saying that they are to be kept in a strong room. But villagers couldn’t trace the murtis later. They sought Pon Manicka Vel’s help who traced the murtis and returned them to the villagers to be worshipped regularly. It is sad enough that murtis have to be locked up in so-called ‘strong rooms’ instead of being worshipped every day. That they are smuggled out of even those ‘strong rooms’ shows the sorry state of Hindu affairs in the state.
