The treasure reportedly weighs more than one kilogram (Representative)
Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu:
Villagers stumbled upon “ancient gold” during the renovation of a temple in Tamil Nadu and it was seized by authorities and deposited in the government treasury on Sunday despite local protests against it, authorities said.
During the renovation of a Lord Shiva temple taken over by the villagers themselves, a few days ago “items of gold”, said to weigh more than half a kilogram, were found under the steps leading to the sanctum sanctorum.
The officials, upon receiving information about the treasure, came to the temple, wanting to hand over the gold to the government.
While devotees and local people refused to part with it because they wanted to put the gold back in the same place after the completion of the renovation, the authorities were adamant in accepting it, officials said.
After the talks failed, officials deployed an adequate number of police personnel to the village and, amid protests, confiscated the find, packed it in a box and sealed it before taking it away.
According to the villagers, the temple is believed to belong to the Chola era.
“Placing some gold under the temple steps is considered auspicious and this practice dates back to time immemorial,” said a local people.
Since the gold belonged to the temple, authorities did not have the right to confiscate or retain it, the site maintained, and blocked police and officials from taking it away.
When asked if they had verified the find, Revenue Division Officer Vidya said it “looked like gold.”
On the weight and shape of gold, he told the PTI news agency that a full assessment could not be made in view of the protests of the people.
“We only have one count,” he said, adding that the gold was an “assortment,” including one that appeared to be some kind of “waist chain,” he said.
“The gold has been deposited in the treasury,” he said.
Responding to a question and a request from the people, he said that they wanted it to be placed back in the temple.
A police officer said that the gold weighed around “565 grams according to the information” and that the government’s tax authorities would make a decision on whether to return the gold to the temple or not.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was released from a press release)
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