The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the Tamil Nadu government, saying its actions over the disappearance of key documents and files in the idol smuggling case are not satisfactory in any way.
Rare panchaloha and stone idols worth thousands of crores of rupees were smuggled from ancient temples in Tamil Nadu. The case was handed to the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police, which initially investigated under the Madras High Court’s monitoring, led by retired IPS officer Pon. Manickavel. After his retirement and the change in responsibilities, 41 items, including investigation reports, witness details, the crucial ‘case diary’ and digital discs, went missing from the police office. Complaints alleged that the documents were deliberately hidden to conceal links between the smuggling gang and senior police officials. The police, however, maintained that administrative confusion during the transition after Manickavel’s retirement was the main reason.
Advocate ‘Yaanai’ Rajendran appealed to the Supreme Court over the issue, and the petition came up yesterday before a bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan. The state’s counsel said the probe into the missing 41 documents is continuing, that some discs were destroyed in an accidental fire, and that 21 ancient idols have so far been recovered and handed over to the concerned authorities.
The petitioner argued that the disappearance of the case diary raises serious suspicion, that the officials concerned still hold high posts and facts are being suppressed, and that the investigation is an eyewash. He sought an independent Special Investigation Team to trace the missing documents.
The judges said the state’s actions were in no way satisfactory and noted that the government had not said from whom the 21 idols were recovered or where they are now kept. They directed the state to file a detailed report on steps taken to recover the documents, including full details of the recovered idols, a list of those arrested and the places where the idols are secured. The case was adjourned to December 2.
