Rest in peace ~ A necropolis exploration
“Men were rich in those days and could afford to put a hundred cubic feet of masonry into the grave of even so humble a person as ’Jno Clements, Captain of the Country Service, 1820” — Rudyard Kipling, 1891.
Police on Sunday arrested a smuggler in Munger district and seized six Gupta period idols of Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavir and Gods Shiva Parvati valued at around Rs three crore in the international market.
Munger superintendent of police Ashish Bharti said that acting on a tip off a police team led by additional superintendent of police (Operations) Rana Navin laid a trap and arrested the smuggler from Gaida Pahar area and seized the six idols.
The idols had been stolen from Lakhisarai district and were to be sold to another smuggler in Munger, he said.
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The arrested smuggler, who has been identified, had confessed that two idols, including of that of Shiva Parvati were stolen from Chandi temple at Urain village in Lakhisarai district. The other idols were stolen from nearby places.
The six idols are made of granite and four of them are of Lord Buddha. Each idol is valued at Rs 50 lakh in the international market and officials of the Archaeological Survey of India have been informed in this regard, the SP said.
Bharti said the arrested smuggler, whose two accomplices are absconding, had confessed that he had sold stolen idols in Delhi and Karnataka in the past.
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