The judicial custody of Subhash Chandra Kapoor, international antique dealer arrested for theft of idols, was on Tuesday extended till August 21.
Kapoor was extradited from Germany in connection with a case in which 18 idols were stolen from a temple in this district.
Kapoor, who was brought to India on July 13, was produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Ariyalur, R. Rajkumar, on July 14, 16 and 18 before he was sent to police custody for a week.
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He was produced before the Judicial Magistrate on July 24 and the remand extended till August 7.
Kapoor is lodged in the Puzhal prison. His counsel S. Kingston Jerold told reporters that he had filed an objection petition before the Judicial Magistrate as the police wanted to interview Kapoor in the Puzhal prison for three days in connection with the Sripuranthan temple case.
“We objected to this saying that the detention itself was illegal. Besides, we have filed a habeas corpus petition before the Madras High Court. The bail petition for Kapoor will also come up before the High Court in a day or two.”
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The police are investigating two idol theft cases in Ariyalur district registered in 2008. In the Suthamalli Varadarajaperumal temple case (Udayarpalayam police limits) 18 idols of 11th century AD were stolen. The other case relates to the theft of eight idols from the Prahadeeswarar temple at Sripuranthan (Vikramangalam police limits).
Only one of the 26 idols has been recovered. They are said to be worth millions of dollars in the international market.