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Assam cops probing recovery of 42 idols from Brahmaputra bed in Guwahati
Police suspect the idols could have been stolen from temples and private residences in recent weeks. Assam has witnessed a spate of such thefts in the past year.
A routine dip in the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati led to a ‘treasure’ trove of 42 idols along with many other items of worship leaving the state police puzzled.
It all started when Sanu Ali, a tea stall worker, waded deeper into the river on Saturday afternoon to inspect a sharp object that had pricked his leg and stumbled upon an immersed Shiva idol at Guwahati’s Umananda Ghat.
Ali informed the cops, who started a search operation with the divers from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), leading to the recovery of 42 idols of Hindu gods and goddesses made of different metals along with a large number of items used in worship like conches, copper oil lamps, metal tridents, etc. from the same spot in the river bed.
Newly appointed director general of Assam Police, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, and the commissioner of Guwahati police, Deepak Kumar, took stock of the search operations on Sunday.
“We are investigating how these items reached here. A proper search is on to find out if there are more goods. People need to be aware and alert to prevent such incidents,” Mahanta told journalists.
Police suspect the idols could have been stolen from temples and private residences in recent weeks. Assam has witnessed a spate of such thefts in the past year.
An eye witness told police he had seen some people on a boat drop several cartons in the river a few days ago. He said the men had claimed to be disposing of “useless items”.
