Kapoor to be quizzed on other idol thefts

Investigators from the Economic Offences Wing are expected to seek custody of idol-smuggler Subhash Chandra Kapoor on Monday and, if it is granted by the Ariyalur court in Tamil Nadu, he will be interrogated on the whereabouts of the stolen idols and his involvement in other idol theft cases in the State. They will also seek to find out if he was linked to cases of stolen idols elsewhere.

Lawyers of Kapoor, who was brought to Chennai from Germany by a CB-CID team on Friday night, claimed he was suffering from cancer and his health condition was not stable. Investigators denied this, stating that the elderly suspect was in good health.

EOW Inspector-General R. Arumugam told The Hindu that Kapoor, arrested in Frankfurt last October, “was lodged in a German prison until we cleared all the extradition papers. On July 9, a 3-member EOW team flew to Frankfurt and got his custody from the German police.””

Ariyalur Staff Reporter reports:

While one set of idols was stolen from the Varadharajaperumal Temple in Suthamalli, another eight idols were stolen from a Siva Temple in Tiruparandam.

The cases, which were initially probed by the Udayarpalayam and Vikramangalam police, were later transferred to the Idol Wing-CID under the EOW. Kapoor was named as one of the accused in the idols theft cases. A warrant was issued by the Judicial Magistrate court at Jayamkondam based on which extradition proceedings were taken up.