The Hyderabad police on Tuesday claimed to have cracked the case of theft inside the Nizam Museum in the Purani Haveli area by producing Muhammad Ghouse Pasha and Muhammad Mubeen as accused in the case.
“All the stolen objects have been recovered intact and will be returned to the museum in due course,” Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said.
The theft came to light on September 3 morning after museum staff found a one-foot high golden food box encrusted with diamonds and rubies, a golden spoon and two cups and saucers missing.
“Human intelligence gave us the breakthrough, though the thieves tried to mislead the police by laying down fake clues. The thieves tried to sell the booty in Mumbai but could not succeed. When they returned to Hyderabad, we nabbed them,” he said.
The thieves are suspected to have used a rope to enter the museum through the ventilator and left a clue in the form of a masonry mark. “The mark was used to measure the rope and that proved to be an important clue,” said Mr. Kumar.
PTI adds:
Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of Nizam VII of Hyderabad and president of the Nizam Family Welfare Association, last week wrote a letter to Mr. Kumar and requested that utmost priority be given to recover the objects of historical importance. He also questioned the security arrangements at the museum.
“There is a big question mark on the management running this museum as it due to their negligence and poor security arrangements gave easy access to the thieves,” he said.
The museum has various precious items of Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur Nizam VII, he said, adding “souvenirs, gifts presented by other rulers, presented to him by dignitaries and many more priceless items are placed at the museum”.
A lot of the objects on display are also from the seventh Nizam’s personal collection that are carved intricately with diamonds and rubies studded in gold and silver.
The museum also features the massive wardrobe of the sixth Nizam measuring several metres, a 150-year old manually operated lift, and 200-year old proclamation drums, Mr. Khan said.
