December 13, 2020 7:47:17 pm
Image used for representation purposes
Villagers stumbled upon “ancient gold” during the renovation of a temple near Kancheepuram and it was seized by authorities and deposited in the government treasury on Sunday despite locals protesting the action, authorities said.
During the renovation of the Lord Shiva temple in front of Uthiramerur that was taken over by the villagers themselves, a few days ago “articles of gold” said to weigh more than half a kg were found under the steps leading to the sanctum sanctorum. Upon receiving the information, officials came to the temple and wanted the gold to be turned over to the government.
While devotees and local people refused to part with it because they wanted to put the gold back in the same spot after completing the renovation, 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 from people, confiscated the find, packed it in a box and sealed it before taking it away.
According to the villagers, the temple was many centuries old and is believed to be from the Chola era.
“Placing some gold under the temple steps is an auspicious mark and this practice has been in vogue since time immemorial,” said a local people. Since the gold belonged to the temple, the authorities had no right to seize or retain it, they contended and prevented the police and officials from taking the precious metal.
When asked if they had verified the find (if it was gold and if it was centuries old), the Vidya Revenue Division official said it “looked like gold.”
On aspects such as the weight and whether the gold was in the form of coins or ornaments, he told PTI that a full valuation could not be made due to protests from the people.
“We only have one count,” he said, adding that the gold was an “assortment” that included 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.
Uthiramerur, about 40 km from here and 90 km from Chennai, is a city of temples, very popular for its election-related inscriptions showing strong grassroots democracy even a millennium ago.
The city’s name was mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with self-government when he laid the foundation stone for a new Parliament building on December 10.
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