Ancient Ugratara idol recovered, 4 held

A centuries-old 'ashtadhatu' idol of Goddess Tara has been recovered from Nalbari district in Assam, police said Wednesday, more than five months after it was stolen from the famous Ugratara Temple in Guwahati.

Four persons have been arrested in connection with the recovery, police said, adding other valuables were also recovered. Two more suspects are on the run.

The idol, stolen on November 15, dates back to 1044 AD and the temple is revered as one of the 51 'Shaktipeeths' in the country. The temple was built in 1725 AD during the rule of Ahom King Siva Singh.

About a week ago, police had received information about presence of some valuable articles in Nalbari district, the Superintendent of Police of Golaghat district, Pushparaj Singh, said at a press conference in Golaghat.

"An operation was launched on Tuesday and the idol was recovered. The authorities of the temple were informed. They came here this morning and confirmed that it is the same statue that was stolen," Singh said.

The four accused have been identified as Adil Ali and Saan Hussain of Nalbari, Rahul Ali of Mukalmua and Mintu Roy of Guwahati, the SP said.

"The statue was recovered from Adil's house," he said. It will be handed over to the Guwahati police and then it will be given it back to the authorities of the Ugratara Temple, the SP said while showing the statue to the media.

Ugratara temple authorities, present at the press meet, said five parts of the statue were missing. They said the statue will be reinstated at the temple immediately after being taken back to Guwahati.

"It is very good news for the people of Assam," Director General of Police Kula Saikia said.

"Soon after the burglary, I had told the SPs of all districts that it was not a case restricted to Guwahati alone. Accordingly, investigation teams were formed and the idol was recovered on Tuesday night," Saikia said.

The idol made of ashtadhatu, an alloy of eight metals, was found missing when the priest had opened the temple's door on the morning of November 16, 2018.

Other valuables and money from the donation box were also looted.

The CCTV footage of the temple showed four persons vandalising the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and taking away the idol.