More than a fortnight after over 200 stone and panchaloha idols and exquisite paintings were recovered from the house of an 84-year-old ‘art dealer’ in Alwarpet, officials at the Chennai Circle of Archaeological Survey of India on Wednesday said they issued certificates only to non-antique artefacts.
Certification
The certification to the non-antique artefacts that made it legal for idols to be transported and stored elsewhere, was made by a ‘lower committee’ comprising their staff and also those from the Department of Archaeology of the State government and experts, including former government officials. In the latest episode, the Chennai Circle did not have any role to play and that even the inspection was made by officials and experts form the Bengaluru office, K. Lourdusamy, Superintending Archaeologist, Chennai Circle, ASI. Staff at the Department of Archaeology too said they were not part of the investigation.
