Police in Jharkhand have recovered a nearly 100-year-old Ashtadhatu idol stolen from a Jain temple and arrested one person in connection with the theft. The idol, valued at Rs 50 lakh, was recovered within two hours of the theft.
Delhi Police have arrested a 44-year-old man, identified as Mohit Sharma, who is alleged to be the kingpin of an inter-state temple theft operation. Sharma, wanted in multiple cases across Punjab, Kerala, and Karnataka, specialised in stealing silver idols and donation articles from temples.
Delhi Police have arrested a 45-year-old burglar and a woman for allegedly stealing an antique Ashtadhatu idol of Lord Shani and other brass items from a 104-year-old temple in Delhi's Chandni Chowk.
Unidentified miscreants vandalised a Hanuman temple in Shillong's Garikhana locality, stealing idols, silver ornaments and cash after disabling CCTV cameras, police said on Sunday.
Srinivasan had moved the court yesterday seeking anticipatory bail in connection with an idol theft case.
Delhi Police have arrested a 24-year-old man named Rohit for allegedly burgling a Hanuman temple in Burari, north Delhi. Stolen idols and religious articles were recovered, and the accused was apprehended based on CCTV footage and technical surveillance while attempting to sell the stolen goods.
A tourist from West Bengal was apprehended in Arunachal Pradesh for allegedly stealing religious items from the Tawang Monastery and Giant Buddha Statue Park. The stolen items were recovered, and the tourist was released with a warning.
The Culture Department has written to the Home Department, expressing its concern over the thefts and demanded a CBI probe into the issue.
An SIT investigating the Sabarimala gold loss case has questioned former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The interrogation has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties alleging interference in the investigation.
A controversy surrounding the gold-clad plates of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala temple has ignited a political row in Kerala, with opposition parties alleging theft and demanding a comprehensive investigation into temple inventories and the role of a sponsor in the replating process.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold loss case suspects that more gold was lost from the temple than initially believed. The investigation has led to political accusations and counter-accusations between various parties.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple searched the residence of prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty. The search was part of an ongoing investigation to find documents and digital devices. Potty is currently being interrogated at the Crime Branch office.
Wondering if God can be summoned by a court to be produced for inspection, the Madras High Court has pulled up a lower court for ordering the authorities of a temple in Tirupur district to produce the 'Moolavar' idol for verification.
A trial court in Tamil Nadu's Kumbakonam on Tuesday convicted international antique dealer Subhash Chandra Kapoor and five of his accomplices to 10 years imprisonment in the Udayarpalayam burglary and illegal export of 19 antique idols valued over Rs 94 crore to the Art of the Past Gallery, New York, USA, the state idol wing CID said on Tuesday.
The startling story of how a bitter ex-girlfriend helped capture artifacts raider Subhash Kapoor.
The Bhasma Shankar temple in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has reopened after being locked for 45 years following communal riots. The district administration has requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct carbon dating of the temple, including a well on the premises. The temple is being guarded round the clock and worshippers have started visiting. The reopening of the temple has been met with gratitude from local residents, who have expressed their desire to reconnect with their heritage.
Local residents shared their memories of the temple, with many highlighting its importance as a religious site for the community.
One idol was missing, while two other idols at the Panchmukhi Mahadev temple in Lokaha area of Madhubani district were damaged.
A total of 89 items including 56 stone idols, 22 pillars and 12 metal statues were recovered from the house.
The two-and-a-half-foot idol was looted from the Sivan Temple in Tamil Nadu's Sripuranthan village.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he does not need an invitation from anyone to visit the newly-constructed temple in Ayodhya as Lord Ram resides in his heart.
The current social realities and challenges have been addressed in the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 that will provide a mechanism for effectively dealing with such crimes and criminals and also having a deterrent effect, officials said on Saturday.
'In China there is capital punishment for heritage theft. That is how they treat criminals, unlike us.' 'Here we treat them like it's a house-breaking theft.'
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Laxmi, stories from the Hindu epics are seen in carvings, paintings and murals, as well as recognisable figures from mythology, like Garuda, Sheshnag, Nandi and Apsaras, notes Deepa Gahlot, savouring the beauty of Cambodia.
'There are hundreds of items from Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Rajasthan, Gujarat in Subhash Kapoor's loot. The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing wants to just prosecute Kapoor for three cases and close it. To me that's myopic.'
The court noted that several devotees visiting the Jagannath temple in Puri were being harassed.
Two groups of people clashed following damage to a Shiva temple and desecration and theft of some idols.
An under-construction church in Kaimri village near Hisar was vandalised by a group and the cross replaced with an idol of Hanuman, triggering tension in the area in Haryana.
The art dealer flees India, but is detained at Frankfurt airport.
"For some, these artefacts may be measured in monetary terms but for us this is beyond that. It's a part of our culture and heritage," the prime minister said at the ceremony held at the Blair House.
Most popular mandal in Mumbai, Lalbaugcha Raja, takes Rs 51 crore cover.
'Imagine how secure are our seaports and airports that 10,000 objects can leave every decade and our custodians are not even aware?' 'This kind of targeted looting when thieves pick and choose the best of Indian art and steal on an industrial basis will eventually impoverish our great land.'
'Cultural property crimes have been linked, by the United Nations and others, to terrorism.' 'These links show the perpetrators to be associated with major criminal and terrorist networks like ISIS.
The mystery over incidents of chopping of braids in Delhi and other states continued as more such cases were reported.
Bhilar, a strawberry farming hub in Maharashtra, has been transformed into India's first 'books village'.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
They live on the road under a temporary, plastic roof. But, for 11 days, Lord Ganesha finds a home in their abode.
'It was only relatively recently that Subhash Kapoor was able to secure the sources in India, Afghanistan and Cambodia, that allowed him to get the really highest level objects, and that helped propel him in recent years up the ranks.'
'In 2015 I watched films in so many places. I attended several film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Telluride, Toronto, Zurich, Mumbai, Dharamsala and Goa,' says Aseem Chhabra, author of a forthcoming book on Shashi Kapoor.
Forty years after the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi, the Sunanda K Datta-Ray recalls life when civil rights were suspended and press censorship was in force
