In a heartwarming tale, a rare 12th century idol of Terton Pema Lingpa was recovered by the Delhi Police. Terton Pema Lingpa is a revered Tibetan saint and siddha of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and thus the recovery was especially important, as the idol holds both sentimental and religious value for Tibetans.
Officials say that the idol was stolen from the house of the head Cheepa of Sangyeling Gompa, in the Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh. This was over a week ago. Then, on Sunday, police received a tip-off that the idol had been smuggled by a Tibetan couple who were trying to sell the idol — believed to be worth crores of rupees, in the Capital's Majnu Ka Tila market.
"It was on Sunday that a crime branch team received information that some people were trying to sell an ancient idol in Majnu Ka Tila and thereafter the idol would be smuggled into Tibet. The informant stated that a Tibetan couple was involved in the theft of the idol, and they would come near a Gurudwara in Majnu Ka Tila around 8 am. Following this, the team laid a trap and the duo was arrested," said Madhur Verma, DCP (Crime).
They arrested couple were identified as Ngawang Tsundue (29), a resident of Himachal Pradesh and his female associate as MS Lobsang Gakey Sherpa (26) from Tibet. During the search, the golden coloured idol was identified by the son of head Cheepa as the one of Terton Pema Lingpa, Verma added.
During interrogation, Tsundue disclosed that he was a permanent resident of Tibet and had come to India in 2009-2010, when he started living in Dharamshala. Police said that he then came in contact with the daughter of Head Cheepa of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, and married her in 2011. However, subsequently, the couple got divorced.
"In order to take revenge with Head Cheepa's family, Tsundue decided to steal the idol for monetary gain and also to defame the head Cheepa. He also roped in Sherpa, who was his live in live-in partner, in the crime. Around 10-15 days back he went to Tawang and broke into the house of the Head Cheepa and stole the idol. He then came to Delhi where he was trying to sell it in the grey markets. Arunachal Pradesh Police have been informed about the recovery and arrest," the DCP said.
The recovery of the idol is of great importance in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were some reports of social unrest brewing in the state, due to it being stolen.
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