The Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has successfully accomplished the treasure hunt after retrieving what has been lost 17 years before. The trajectory of the first Tamil bible, which belongs to the 17th century, has currently traced to London and after the confirmation, the state officials have initiated the process of bringing it back to its homeland and the accomplishment has drawn huge attention. 

In what has been termed a phenomenal antique, the 300-year-old first Tamil bible was stolen from Saraswati Mahal Museum in Thanjavur in October 2005. It was under the control of the Tamil Nadu government and after the treasure went missing, a complaint was filed with the Thanjavur West station. However, the investigation to locate the missing document didn't take off as expected as the document wasn't able to be traced.

With no results, the case was closed. Ten years later, in 2017, the case was resurrected by Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing Crime Investigative Department (CID) and it initiated a fresh investigation, this time, it was no turning back. The officials attached to the department had carried out a vigorous investigation and after a tip-off from the register of the concerned museum, the officials finally traced the located the first Tamil bible to London. 

It has been found in King's College in the British Capital and the treasure was resting in King George III's personal collection. The task of finding the treasure was humongous and yet the story behind the finding is interesting as in the mission of finding the precious inscription, the officials have almost sifted the websites of notable museums across the world and after incessant search, the document has come to light of its homeland after 17 years. 

How it was stolen and how the police traced it: 

This first Tamil translation of the Bible was printed in 1715 by Bartholomaeus Zieganbalg, which is a Danish Protestant missionary. It was presented to Tulaji Rajah Serfoji by Schwartz, another missionary and a close friend of the King. After the takeover by the Tamil Nadu government, the treasure was kept as an exhibit in the Saraswati Mahal Museum for public viewing. The Deputy Administrator of the Serfoji Palace had filed a complaint on October 10, 2005, at the Thanjavur West station in which it was said that the first Tamil bible was stolen from the museum. 

That case was closed later as the officials weren't able to locate the document and when the Idol Wing opened up the case in 2017, it received a complaint from Rajendran that the Bible was yet to be found and the wing has taken up the case and now finished it successfully. The investigation was led by K Jayanth Murali, who is the Director-General of Police (DGP) Idol Wing CID. 

According to The Hindu, Jayanth Murali said, "We reviewed the case afresh as there was no headway in the earlier investigation. We intensified the investigation and a special team was constituted to trace the missing Bible. An inspection into the visitor's register of the museum has revealed that there had been some foreign visitors to the museum on October 7, 2005, the day the book went missing. Further inquiries have revealed that those visitors had come to India to attend a function to commemorate Bartholomaeus Zieganbalg."

Following the revelation, the police developed a suspicion that the foreign visitors have stolen the book after which the officials launched a search on the websites of various museums around the world. The police have also sifted the collector's websites and organizations connected with the Danish missionary. Jayanth Murali further said, "After several days of browsing multiple websites of various museums, our officers had gone through the collection of King George III which included thousands of printed books, manuscripts, and pamphlets."

"Hidden amongst the thousands of books, our officers discovered the stolen Bible, the first translated antiquarian Bible in Tamil that was printed in a printing press at Tharangambadi in the 17th century with the signature of Rajah Serfoji of Thanjavur. The antiquarian Bible that was available on the website of the King's collection matched the picture of the stolen book. Further enquiries with the concerned confirmed our findings", Murali added. With the significant development, the precious 17th-century book will be returning to Tamil Nadu after 17 years. 

History of the first Tamil Bible: 

Danish missionary Bartholomaeus Zieganbalg was one of the first Protestant missionaries to be established in India and he has installed a Tamil printing press. The Tamil translation of the Bible was printed at this press and years later, the Bible was transferred to the possession of the then Thanjavur ruler, Tulaji Rajah Serfoji, by another missionary called Shwartz, who was close to the ruler.  The first Tamil Bible was printed in 1715 and Bartholomaeus Zieganbalg died in 1719 at the age of 37 and he left behind the book, which was taken over by Shwartz. 

In commemoration of his friendship with the ruler Tulaji, Shwartz had handed over the first copy to the ruler and the book was under the control of the ruler and his successors before it was finally taken over by the Tamil Nadu government, which has kept the book at the Saraswati Mahal Museum in Thanjavur. According to reports, the Saraswati Mahal Museum has decided to bring back the book from London as per the UNESCO Treaty.