Notorious smuggler Subhash Kapoor who stole and sold ancient Hindu deities has been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by the court in the case of stealing and smuggling 19 antique murtis. Along with Kapoor, 5 of his accomplices who helped him in the act have also been convicted.

Kapoor was arrested in relation to the burglary and smuggling of 19 panchaloha murtis worth Rs 94 crores from the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Udayarpalayam, Ariyalur in 2000. TN Idol Wing police filed a case in 2008, but the investigation faced obstacles as Kapoor is a US citizen. A Red Corner notice was issued by Interpol and Kapoor was detained by the German police in 2011. 

Later he was handed over to the Idol Wing COD police for investigation in 2012 and extradited to Bharat. He was remanded to judicial custody the next day and lodged in Trichy Central Prison since then. He had tried to delay the trial by filing multiple bail applications and discharge petitions which were all dismissed. In 2020 he filed an application in the Kumbakonam Court seeking to recall and cross-examine 17 witnesses, which was dismissed.

He went to the Madras High Court to challenge it in 2021, which also dismissed his appeal. Only then did the trial commence at the Kumbakonam Additional Chief Magistrate Court, and all the accused were convicted. While Subhash Kapoor and two of his accomplices, Sanjiv Asokan and Packiyakumar, were awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, other convicts Marichamy, Sri Ram alias Sulogu, and Parthiban, were sentenced to 14 years.

The court also fined him Rs 7000, which he refused to pay. As he has already served 11 years in prison, he will be released after paying the fine. It is suspected that he is refusing to pay to delay being picked up by the US and German authorities for investigation. Delay in Kapoor’s trial has strained Bharat- Germany diplomatic relations as the latter has stalled other extradition requests.

Four more cases against Kapoor for smuggling murtis from the temples in Vikramangalam, Veeravanallur, Paluvoor, and Virudhachalam are remaining against Kapoor. They are pending concurrence from the German Government for trials to be initiated. Kapoor smuggled and sold thousands of artifacts to private collectors and museums throughout the world. When he was arrested in Germany, the US launched “Operation Hidden Idol” through which more than 2500 artifacts with links to Kapoor were recovered.

Stolen treasures returned

The US has sought his extradition from India, which has redoubled efforts to bring back Hindu and Buddhist religious idols and artefacts robbed from temples, protected ruins and archeological sites.

In 2016, the US returned to India statues and works in bronze and terracotta worth over €96 million at the time, saying that they were part of shipments linked to Kapoor.

Two years later, the US sent back two antique statues worth hundreds of thousands of euros that had been stolen from India and displayed in American museums.

The National Gallery of Australia also returned items, including two 900-year-old statues also linked to Kapoor’s now-infamous New York showroom.

The UK, Canada, and Italy have also repatriated items that were spirited out of India.

Museums have also returned artifacts to Nepal, including the repatriation in August of a 13th-century wooden sculpture of a tree deity from New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

Heritage laws lacking

Vijay Kumar, an amateur art detective who has helped India trace and recover stolen artifacts, believed weak laws emboldened smugglers such as Kapoor.

“In the past, our heritage laws have been weak, and India has been lax in going after stolen art and statues,” Kumar told media after Australia handed back 29 artifacts in March this year.

“There is also a perception that India does not care enough about bringing back her treasures,” he said.

India’s National Crime Records Bureau has reported the recovery of 1,493 items out of 4,408 idols and antiquities are stolen between 2008 and 2012. 

Separately, the Culture Ministry has reported the theft of 101 priceless antiques from federally protected monuments between 2000 and 2016.

UNESCO estimates that nearly 50,000 objects were smuggled out of India between 1979 and 1989 alone. The UN's culture agency has underscored concerns about lax security at some of the 3,650 state monuments which include treasured ruins from prehistoric times.

Police officers argue relatively light punishment for robbing temples was not enough to drive away thieves.

“Our idols worth millions go missing, but the smugglers are fined just a handful of rupees if caught,” said one federal officer on condition of anonymity.

“This is a joke.”

References:

hindupost.in