After several days of investigation that concluded on Tuesday, officials of the Idol Wing CID have allegedly found out that not even one gram of gold has been used in the making of new panchaloha idols of Sri Somaskandar and Elavaar Kuzhali Amman at the Sri Ekambareswarar Temple in Kancheepuram. As part of the investigation to test the quantity of gold used in the idols, the Idol Wing department used electronic gadgets imported from the U.S., official sources said.
The investigation has been taken up based on the FIR filed by the Siva Kanchi police station after a direction from the Kancheepuram court. Chief Sthapathi M. Muthiah Sthapathi had, in a report submitted to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Department, said that the nearly 1,200-year-old panchaloha idols need to be replaced since they were in a damaged condition due to long usage. Funds for making new idols were mobilised from the public in 2015. A senior official of the Idol Wing CID said, in the FIR filed under Section 403 read with Section 409 of the IPC, 10 persons have been named including Muthiah Sthapathi, the executive officer and the temple priest.
Sources in the HR &CE said that one statue was made for ₹2.25 lakh and the other for ₹1.20 lakh, which includes the making charges and metal used. .“The statues were made from donor funds and very minimal gold was used since not much was collected,” the official explained. Another source, who refused to be named, said that the case did not have substance and the quantity of metals collected as donation has not been ascertained in any way. The idol makers usually use a higher quantity of gold along with other metals when it comes to the face and hands (hastham) so that these parts look brighter, explained a sthapathi.
