Archeological find: Police start looking for treasure thieves

Six men accused of stealing treasure dating back to Hindu Shahi period.

JHANG/ LAHORE:

Amanpur Sial police are looking for six men accused of stealing a treasure including gold and silver coins, estimated to be worth Rs1.5 billion.

Sub Inspector Mansab Sardar Baloch said police had raided the home of one of the six men on Sunday night but had not found the man.

The FIR in the case was registered on July 15 on the basis of an investigation carried out by an Archeology Department expert. It identifies the suspects as Iqbal, Manzoor, Allah Ditta, Sajid, Anwar and Muzaffar.

In his report submitted to the Archaeology Department, Multan Assistant Director Habib Ullah estimated the worth of the treasure, consisting of three gold idols, gold and silver coins and other jewels, to be between Rs1 billion and Rs1.5 billion.

Deputy Director Afzal Khan told The Express Tribune that pictures of some of the coins discovered from the mound suggested that the treasure belonged to the Hindu Shahi period (around 10th and 11th century). He said the pictures were provided by Abdul Ghafoor, brother of landowner Muhammad Ramazan. He said Ramazan had seized some of the coins found in a clay pot during a scuffle with the six men he had hired to flatten the plot so that he could use it for agriculture.

Khan said the government was entitled to the any treasure found in this manner under the Punjab Antiquities Act of 2012 and the Land Revenue Act.

The Archeology Department had found out about the matter through an application Advocate Chaudhary Mukhtar wrote on behalf of Ramazan. The application was also sent to the offices of the Lahore High Court chief justice and the Faisalabad district coordination officer.

Advocate Mukhtar said one of the six men, identified as Muzaffar, had apparently gotten in touch with one of his assistants, Khalil Ahmad Chauhan, and inquired about the authenticity of the treasure. He said Muzaffar and Chauhan were neighbours. He said the men later contacted a goldsmith in Peer Abdur Rehman with similar questions.

The counsel said the police and the administration were reluctant to investigate the matter because they had been bribed by the suspects.

SHO Khalid Mehmood Khan rejected the allegation as baseless and said that the FIR was registered as soon as there was a request in that regard from the Archaeology Department.

Talking to The Tribune, Abdul Ghafoor said the labourers had overpowered him, Ramazan and another man, Muhammad Butt, present at the site to supervise the flattening job and fled with the clay pot on June 4. He said they had managed to seize only a few coins.

He said two of the workers had been breaking the earth using tractors and the other four shifting loose earth to a nearby plot. He said the treasure consisted of three idols, each about 30 inches in length; gold and silver coins, two gold armguards and chains.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2012.