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Ponn Manickavel Age, Wife, Family, Biography

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Hometown: Madurai
Marital Status: Married
Age: 65 Years

Ponn Manickavel

Bio/Wiki
Other NamePon Manickavel
Full NameA.G. Ponn Manickavel
ProfessionIndian Police Service officer
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)5' 8" (173 cm)
Eye ColourBrown
Hair ColourBald
Civil Service
ServiceIndian Police Service (IPS)
Batch1996
CadreTamil Nadu
Service Years1996 - 2018
Major Designation(s)• Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range and Inspector General of Police Railways
• Deputy inspector general of police of the Idol Wing CID in Chennai (11 February 2012 - September 2017)
• Inspector General of Police of Idol Wing, Economic Offences Wing of Tamil Nadu Police (September 2017 - November 2018)
Personal Life
Date of Birth25 November 1958 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2023) 65 Years
BirthplaceArasampatti Village, Madurai District, Tamil Nadu
Zodiac signSagittarius
NationalityIndian
HometownMadurai, Tamil Nadu
Educational Qualification(s)• BBA
• MA
• MSW
ReligionHinduism
ControversiesArrested for falsely accusing a police officer in an idol theft case:
In 2024, Ponn Manickavel was accused of falsely accusing the former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Kader Batcha in a idol theft case which later led to Batcha's arrest. Later, Batcha filed a case against Ponn. The court ordered further investigation into the incident. Manickavel in his petition claimed that his house was raided by CBI and many of his properties were sealed on 10 August. He also claimed that the actions taken by the CBI were illegal. He also said that it was only done to ruin his reputation. [1]The Times of India
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Family
ChildrenDaughter- Dr. Pakiyalakshmi
ParentsFather- Sombuthevar (Civil Servant)
Mother- Kasambuammal

Ponn Manickavel Some Lesser Known Facts About Ponn Manickavel

  • According to Ponn, he was highly disciplined during his school time. From a young age, Ponn aspired to become a civil servant but did not want to become a police officer.
  • Ponn Manickavel is known for his work in retrieving hundreds of valuable stolen idols from Hindu temples across the country.
  • He has often been in the news for calling out many irregularities in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department,  a department under the government of Tamil Nadu that manages and controls the temple administration within the state. The department controls 37,425 temples, 56 mutts or religious orders, 47 temples belonging to mutts, 1721 specific Endowments and 189 trusts.
  • In 2018, he led a team at the Idol Wing (CID) and retrieved two bronzes of King Rajarajasolan and his queen Lokamadevi. Each of the statues was worth more than Rs. 100 crore in the international market. The antique statues belonged to the Big Temple in Thanjavur.
  • On 22 March 2018, he registered a case claiming that the 3000-year-old Navabashana idol in the Dandayuthaswami temple (Palani temple) which was replaced with a newly sculpted Panchaloha idol in 2004 as the old idol was “wearing off” was replaced only because it was smuggled internationally.

    Ponn Manickavel posing with the recovered Panchaloha idols at Sozhavandhan police station in Madurai district

    Ponn Manickavel posing with the recovered Panchaloha idols at Sozhavandhan police station in Madurai district

  • Three days after the case was registered, Chief Sthapathi ( temple sculptor) of the Palani temple was arrested. Later, The Navabashana idol was retrieved and replaced.
  • After the investigation, it was found that the idols were imported by Rao Bahadur Srinivasa Gopalachari in Kabisthalam in Thanjavur to Gautam Sarabhai for crores of rupees. The statues were brought back to Tamil Nadu on 31 May 2018
  • In 2018, he was appointed as the special officer for one year to complete idol theft cases in Tamil Nadu by the Madras High Court.
  • During his stint as the Inspector General of Police of Idol Wing in Tamil Nadu, he has often been in the news for being in feuds with the government over idol theft cases.
  • In January 2019, the Madras High Court issued a warning against the Tamil Nadu government for providing all the required facilities to Pon Manickavel to allow him to carry out his investigations as a Special Officer in regard to various idol theft cases. The Madras High Court also claimed they would implement a judicial emergency if the government failed to agree to the court’s orders.
  • According to various reports, Manickavel worked from the streets as he had no office space at the Idol Wing office in Guindy, Chennai.

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