Visitor to Delhi’s National Museum walks away with exhibit because he ‘liked’ it

The accused, a resident of Gurugram, insisted that he had not stolen the replica of the Olduvai Handaxe but only ‘taken’ the object because he liked it.

A 53-year-old man has been arrested from Gurugram for allegedly stealing a replica of the ancient ‘Olduvai Handaxe’ from the National Museum at Janpath, Delhi police said on Saturday.

The visitor stole a replica of the ancient Olduvai Handaxe, an invention that dates back 1.5 million years. (HT Photo)

Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said Uday Ratra was arrested from his Gurugram residence by a South Avenue police team around 3 am on Saturday. “We have recovered the stolen replica of the Olduvai Handaxe, one of the first greatest inventions of mankind going back to over 1.5 million years,” he added.

According to Verma, museum authorities noticed that the object was missing on June 24. “Upon being alerted to the theft, we scanned CCTV footage and found a man leaving the premises with the stolen item,” he said.

A scrutiny of the visitors’ register helped the police identify the alleged thief as Ratra. “We acquired the accused’s residential address and sent a team there. However, Ratra’s father – a former coast guard official – said that he was in Chandigarh. So we laid a trap outside his home and caught him when he returned around 3 am. He gave us the replica of the artefact, insisting that he had not stolen the piece but only brought it home because he happened to like it,” a police officer familiar with the case said.

Further investigation is on.