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Ancient idol worth 2 crore seized

Staff Reporter

Prize catch: The seized idol

NEW DELHI: An antique “ashtadhatu” idol of “Sri Rama” worth about Rs. 2 crore in the international market has been seized by the Special Staff of the Central Delhi police.

The idol, weighing 17.8 kg, is believed to be 300 to 400 years old.

Acting on a tip-off that two persons were planning to dispose of an antique idol, the police sent a decoy to strike a deal with them.

The suspects agreed to sell the idol for Rs. 50 lakh and asked the decoy to take delivery near a temple on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg here.

Soon after the duo reached the spot in a Santro car, the police arrested them and seized the idol from the vehicle. They were identified as Aman Gupta, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Ramakant Shukla, a resident of Mandawali.

During interrogation, they purportedly disclosed that Sanjay, a resident of Karawal Nagar, had given them the 18-inch-tall idol to dispose it of. The sale proceeds were to be shared by the three equally.

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