Antique statues of Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita, worth several crores, recovered by Delhi police; four arrested
Antique statues of Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita, worth several crores, recovered by Delhi police; four arrested
While the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute continues to find passionate advocates on both sides, 200-year-old idols of Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita are being smuggled overseas by those who have business rather than religion uppermost in their mind. Delhi police arrested four people on Tuesday with antique statues worth several crores in the international market.
Figure it out: The three statues are about 200 years old and worth several
crores in the international market. Pic/mid day
"Our team from the Prasad Nagar police station received information about the smugglers who were trying to deliver the precious idols to someone. Our personnel immediately approached the spot and the accused were caught red-handed with three ancient statues. A pulsar bike was also recovered from them," said a police officer.
The accused were identified as Kuldeep, Rajesh and Remmy Alby. A fourth accused Harnarayan was arrested on their tip off.
"Kuldeep and Rajesh had come to deliver the idols to Remmy. In the interrogation Kuleep and Rajesh revealed that they got the statues from Harnarayan. All of the accused are semi-illiterate," the officer added. The origin of the idols is yet to be ascertained. The Archaeological Survey of India is inspecting the figures."The actual price and the place of origin of the idols are being inspected by the ASI which will be done by the 28th of this month," said Jaspal Singh, DCP, Central District.
The cops said that such idols can be easily sold in countries like France and England. The antique collectors of these nations pay crores for such ancient statues."We are verifying previous records of the accused and we are also investigating about any major rackets backing the accused," Jaspal Singh added.
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| Earlier this year, two 'panchaloha' idols worth seven crore and dating back to the Chola dynasty period have been recovered by police from a five-member gang at nearby Perinthalmanna. |
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