Historic statue of Our Lady of Refuge stolen in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 October 2013, 17:52 GMT]
A divine statue of St Adaikkala Maatha (Our Lady of Refuge) said to be over 178 years old has been reported missing from the shrine in Mannaar Naanaaddaan creating panic among the general public. According to a complaint filed by the authorities of the Shrine at Murungkan Police station, the statue was stolen by ‘unidentified persons’ last Sunday. The complaint says some unidentified persons had gone into the shrine on September 29 and had removed the statue which was kept in a glass cabinet. The intruders removed the clothes on the statue and placed them inside the cabinet from where the statue was removed.

The SL policemen from Murungkan station had visited the shrine on Monday to conduct an inquiry. Occupying SL military personnel were also seen accompanying them.

A sniffer dog was brought to trace the site. Though the dog ran a fair distance, no clues were found.

The SL police has taken away the clothes, which had been removed from Matha’s statue, for further examinations.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, in her oral update to the UNHRC last Wednesday said she had received a compilation of 227 incidents of religious attacks, threats and incitement against Muslims alone that were recorded between January and July 2013. There have been numerous other attacks or incitement against Christians and Hindus as well, she had noted.