Police seize two 'ashtadhatu' idols worth Rs 4 cr, arrest three

Two 200-year-old idols of Lord Krishna, allegedly worth Rs 4 crore in the antiques grey market, were seized in south Delhi and three persons held for their alleged involvement in the case, police said on Monday.

Two 200-year-old idols of Lord Krishna, allegedly worth R4 crore in the antiques grey market, were seized in south Delhi and three persons held for their alleged involvement in the case, police said on Monday.

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Chhaya Sharma, DCP (south), said Atiar Rehman Sheikh, 27, Firoz Sheikh, 32 and Abdulla Mandal, 39, all hailing from South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, were apprehended with the idols from Pushp Vihar. They were on their way to sell these to a dealer in Sainik Farms.

So, a trap was laid at the Asian Market in Pushp Vihar and the criminal trio in question was, intercepted for checking. The two idols were despatched to ASI for examination. After preliminary examination, the latter informed police that the statues in question were made of ‘ashtadhatu’ (eight metals mixed together).

“Rehman, the leader of the gang, was living in Delhi and Gurgaon for the past 10 years. He had contacted one Mushraff of West Bengal, a dealer in antique articles, and asked him to send a few antique articles to him through his men so that these can be disposed off in Delhi to someone willing to pay a good price,” Sharma explained.