Suthamalli

Suthamalli is a village in the Udayarpalayam taluk of Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Suthamalli
village
Country India
StateTamil Nadu
DistrictAriyalur
Population
 (2001)
 • Total3,922
Languages
 • OfficialTamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationTN-
Coastline0 kilometres (0 mi)
Sex ratio1020 ♂/♀
Literacy55.61%

Demographics

As per the 2001 census, Suthamalli had a total population of 3922 with 1932 males and 1990 females.[1]

Temples

Historical Sundaresvarar Temple and Varadaraja Perumal Temple are located here.

Idol theft

The Chola-era brozes belonging to both the temples were stolen sometime before 2008.[2] The Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Criminal Investigation Department (IW-CID) has traced some of them to the United States.[3]

  • Varadaraja Perumal Temple
S.No. Deity Stolen Idol traced to Country Current status More Details
1 Vishnu Recovered [4]
2 Sridevi Recovered [4]
3 Bhudevi Recovered [5]
4 Chakratalvar Recovered [5]
5 Unknown
  • Sundaresvarar Temple
S.No. Deity As named in Idol Wing report Stolen Idol traced to Country Current status More Details
1 Nataraja Natarajan[6] ICE United States Unknown [7][8][9]
2 Uma Parameshvari Sivagami Amman / Thani Amman[6] ICE United States Unknown [8][10]
3 Parvati Parvathy / Thani Amman[6] Private collector Belgium Unknown [11]
4 Parvati Sivagami Amman [6] ICE United States Recovered [8][12][13]
5 Trishul Deepalakshmi / Asthiradevar [6] ICE United States Unknown [12]
6 Somaskanda Somaskandar [6] Unknown
7 Kartikeya Murugar / Subramaniyar [6] ICE United States Unknown [8][14]
8 Valli Valli [6] Unknown
9 Chandikeshwara N/A ICE United States Unknown [12][15]

References
  1. Primary Census Abstract, Directorate of Census Operations-Tamil Nadu Archived 6 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. A., Srivathsan (22 July 2012). "The quest for the Suthamalli Nataraja". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  3. A., Srivathsan (27 July 2012). "New York seizure brings hope for Suthamalli". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  4. "Tamil Nadu: Rousing reception in Kailasanathar temple for Nataraja idol retrieved after 45 years". Times of India. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023. ... They will be handing over Vishnu and Shri Devi metal idols to Varadharajaperumal temple at Suthamalli in Ariyalur district on Friday. ...
  5. Kabirdoss, Yogesh (12 July 2016). "TN gets back two 1,000-year-old idols smuggled to US". Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2023. ... The TN police had on May 28 brought back two idols stolen from Varadharaja Perumal temple at Suthamalli in Ariyalur district -that of Boodevi and Chakarathalvar -valued at `11.75 crore in the international market. ...
  6. "Photocopies Of Antique Metal Idols Stolen From Sivan & Perumal Temple At Suthamalli Village, Ariyalur District, Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Tamil Nadu Police: Economic Offences Wing. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  7. Ilangovan, Rajasekaran (22 June 2016). "Case of the missing idols". Frontline. Retrieved 5 August 2023. ... Vijay Kumar said that while the origin of the place of one of the two Nataraja idols remains untraced, the other idols were traced to the Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Suthamalli village in Tamil Nadu in 2008. ...
  8. Jenkins, Cordelia; Ramanathan, Arundhati (12 September 2012). "The temple raiders". Mint. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  9. "Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 4- Here is the Suthamalli Nataraja?". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  10. "Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 5- Suthamalli Uma Parameshvari?". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. Ilangovan, Rajasekaran (8 January 2014). "The great Indian idol robbery". Frontline. Retrieved 5 August 2023. ... Besides, another idol, Thaniamman alias Parvathi, from the Suthamalli temple has been traced to a private collector in Brussels in Belgium, the DIG said. ...
  12. "Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 6- Seized bronzes with ICE?". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. "Bringing back our heritage: Return of Tamil Nadu Antiquities" (PDF). pib.gov.in. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  14. "Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 2- Case of the Suthamalli Subramanya". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  15. Peter, Petlee (9 September 2012). "U.S. authorities send details of seized Siva idol". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 August 2023.


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