Two individuals, together with a lady, have been arrested on Monday for allegedly stealing a twelfth century idol of Terton Pema Lingpa, a extremely revered saint in Buddhism. The idol, price a number of crore rupees, was stolen from the home of Head Cheepa (Head Lama) in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh on the intervening night time of May 31 and June 1, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madhur Verma mentioned. The accused wished to precise revenge from Cheepa after his marriage with the latter’s daughter ended up in divorce.
On June 4, the crime department of Delhi Police acquired data that the accused try to promote the 900-year-old idol within the gray market of Majnu Ka Tilla for Rs 1.40 crore. From there the idol was purported to be smuggled to Tibet, Verma mentioned. He mentioned that they acquired essential inputs from Arunachal Pradesh Police and took motion accordingly.
A workforce led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjay Sehrawat laid a entice close to the Majnu Ka Tilla Gurudwara round 8 AM to nab the accused, he added. The accused – Ngawang Tsundue (29) and his live-in companion Lobsang Gakey Sherpa (26) have been arrested from there once they arrived to fulfill a potential purchaser, Verma mentioned. Police recovered a golden-coloured idol from Tsundue’s bag and a few spiritual garments have been recovered from Sherpa.
Tsundue, who’s a everlasting resident of Tibet, got here to India in 2009-2010. He began dwelling in Dharamsala, the place he met the daughter of Head Cheepa of Tawang. He was working in a drugs store there. In 2011, he married her however the couple acquired divorced final yr. He wished to take revenge from Cheepa’s household and knew that stealing the idol would earn him an enormous quantity and it’ll additionally tarnish Cheepa’s title. He began planning the theft together with his live-in companion. He knew that the idol was saved at Cheepa’s dwelling and was solely taken to the monastery for particular events, Verma mentioned. The accused was conscious that Cheepa’s household has gone to attend a perform in Kullu and used the chance to steal the statue from his dwelling. There was an previous lady current on the dwelling when the housebreaking occurred.
The incident had generated social and spiritual unrest in Tawang, the DCP mentioned, including that they’ve knowledgeable their counterparts in Arunachal Pradesh.
