UP police seizes 8th century Buddha idol
Varanasi:
Uttar Pradesh police have seized an ancient Buddha idol, believed
to be made in 8th century, from Varanasi and arrested five persons planning
to smuggle it out of the country. The one feet tall idol weighs 26 kilograms
and is made up of 'Ashtadhatu'. Its value in international market is approximately
75,000 dollars. Police said it had the information of smugglers' plans
and nabbed them in the guise of buyers. "We received information that
a gang, which steals these antiques, was in Nagwan area. They were going
to sell it off. So, we formed a police team to investigate the matter.
Some policemen posed as buyers and met them. When it was sure that it
is a rare idol that they are trying to sell and is stolen, they were immediately
apprehended," said Manoj Pant, a police official. Disclosing their modus
operandi, one of the five detainees said that they had stolen several
antiques from a museum in Bihar. "We went Bihar with Pervez, one of our
accomplices, and stole antiques from a Museum. One, we sold of for 1,50,000
rupees (3289.47 dollars), for which we got 25,000 rupees (548.24 dollars)
each. This is the second statue, which we were about to sell for 500,000
rupees (10,955.26 dollars), when they caught in Nagwan," said Awadhesh
Patel. When asked about the actual price of the idol, Patel said: "We
do not know the market value of the idol." Unauthorized dealing of antiques
is banned under the Antiquity and Art Treasure Act (AATA). Under the Act,
no object more than 100 years old, can be taken out of the country. But
even then, India has become a hub of clandestine dealings in object d'art,
with most of the smuggled goods finding their way to the rich drawing
rooms in the west.
- Oct 11, 2006
Tourist
offices
in India
|
Window
on India |
|
Travel Sites Visit
Goa, Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |