Head of the Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu Police, Pon Manickavel claimed in Madras High Court that authorities in the state government were trying to ‘fix him’. He told the Court, “They were conducting some probe behind my back and trying to fix me in some sort of allegation.”
Taking his statement into consideration, the Bench comprised of justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavalu directed the state government not to take any adverse actions against him or his team without its permission.
The Court made the oral orders while hearing the anticipatory bail applications of four people including TVS group chairman Venu Srinivasan and Tamil Nadu chief “sthapathy” M Muthiah. The anticipatory bails were sought in connection with cases of alleged idol theft. The bench has reserved its order on all the applications.
The state government and Pon Manickavel have been at loggerheads with each other for a while. The government had tried to transfer all cases of the idol wing to the CBI citing the IG’s unsatisfactory performance. The CBI has already stated that they cannot investigate the cases due to a shortage of manpower. The Court recently directed the Center to file its reply on the Tamil Nadu state government’s proposal to have the idol theft cases probed by the CBI.
We have previously published a comprehensive report on the accomplishments of Pon Manickavel. Known for his no-nonsense attitude and emphasis on discipline, the recovery of two 1000-year old idols of Rajaraja Chola and his wife, Lokamadevi, remain the crowning jewel of Pon Manickavel’s illustrious career.