New Delhi: A ninth-century idol of Maa Kotrakshi, an incarnation of goddess Chamunda, stolen from a temple at Darpanigarh village of Jajpur district in January 2021, was handed over to the Odisha government by officials of the Customs department here in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Thursday. The officials said the 26-inch high astadhatu idol, weighing 38 kg, would be placed back in the temple in a couple of days. The Customs department recovered the antique idol in September 2022 when it was being exported to Hong Kong via Delhi airport. The officials said an ASI officer deployed at cargo got suspicious after she spotted the idol in the consignment at the documentation stage and halted its export. The idol was then sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for investigation. After a thorough investigation, the ASI found that the idol was stolen from Odisha and was being sold to a buyer in Hong Kong for Rs 3 lakh.
However, its value in the international market was around Rs 3 crore, the officials said. The Customs Department has prosecuted three persons for illegally exporting the precious idol of Maa Kotrakshi. The officials handed it over to the Odisha government Thursday after completing all the relevant procedures. A three-member team of Jajpur police and priests of the temple along with others received the idol in the presence of Pradhan here. Pradhan appreciated the efforts of Customs and ASI officials to recover the precious stolen idol. “I had the privilege of being present on the auspicious occasion of handing over the precious ancient idol of Maa Kotrakshi to the Odisha government by the officials of Customs. Mother Kotrakshi is a symbol of the faith, heritage, and belief of the villagers. Very soon, this scheduled idol will be re-established in the Kotrakshi temple. Today is a very happy day for the entire Odisha. I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy for respecting the sentiments of the villagers and fulfilling their long-standing aspirations and expectations,” Pradhan said.
KULDEEP SINGH, OP