24-yr-old held with pistol older than 1857 uprising and worth Rs 3.17L
24-yr-old held with pistol older than 1857 uprising and worth Rs 3.17L
An antique musket -- believed to be much older than the Mangal Pandey's 1857 uprising -- was recovered from a 24-year-old man by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) police squad yesterday. Eleven silver coins bearing Queen Victoria's inscription and brass coins of Shivaji era were also recovered from the person.
Antique find: The musket and old coins recovered by the police
Noted historian Gajanan Mehendale and Mandar Lawate inspected the seized pistol estimated to be worth Rs 3.17 lakh. Mehendale said the pistol must be from the 1850's while Lawate said that it was at least 150 years old and in working condition.
The suspect has been identified as Ganesh Suresh Gunjal (24), residing at Kondhwa and hailing from Sonewadi in Ahmednagar district. Gunjal, a Bachelor of Computer Science student from Sinhagad college, was taken into custody from Salunke Vihar area of Kondhwa in the wee hours yesterday. Gunjal had the pistol with him for the past eight months, the police said.
What's the truth?
"Due to rising chain-snatching crimes across the city, we had deputed our team in Kondhwa to nab possible suspects. We spotted Gunjal, who was riding his Honda Deo bike and when he was asked to stop he behaved suspiciously.
When apprehended, the pistol was seen attached around his waist," said Police Inspector (AEC) Kishor Jadhav. "When interrogated, Gunjal said the pistol was stolen from the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, a research institute in Sadashiv Peth, during an exhibition. Historian Mehendale and Lawate, associated with the institute were then called in to verify his claims, but the historians denied it."
Gunjal then admitted the pistol was found under the debris of a demolished 'wada' in the city about eight months ago by his brother, said Jadhav. "Now we are verifying the second claim, but in any case possessing such a weapon needs permission of the archaeological department," Jadhav said. Lawate said, "The pistol is
of musket type, minimum 125 years old and still in a working condition. These types of weapons were made by Britishers as well as Indians."
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