A  merciless sun beats down on the throng outside the Trichy Central Prison in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. Not the best of conditions for a two-hour wait amidst a jostling multitude anxious to meet their kin in the massive jail complex.

Suddenly a man appears, walking through a crowd of inmates in the prison yard. It is clear he is heading for the warden’s office. Clad in a light blue t-shirt and mud brown shorts, he is not in regulation prison wear, which is all white. With his hair a mess of unruly grey, a days-old stubble, and eyebrows scrunched up in a strange expression of curiosity and timidity, 69-year-old Subhash Kapoor doesn’t look the part of a man said to be the kingpin of an international gang of idol thieves

He hasn’t given an interview for more than five years. But the erstwhile art dealer and celebrity donor who moved around with New York’s swish set opens up, under the watchful eyes of the jail warden.

In the course of a conversation that lasts over two hours, he spins an intriguing, and sometimes confusing, tale of complicity and collusion. The story he tells is of a well-organised racket run by senior police officers who worked hand-in-glove with smugglers to enable the theft of temple idols from all over India, of men in law enforcement who built fortunes through extortion..Read more

Source web page:The Hindu