The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the theft of an antique bell from the Indian Institute of Advance Study on April 21, 2010. The police could not trace the bell presented by the Royalty of Nepal to the Viceroy of India in 1903.
A Division Bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Sureshwar Thakur passed the order on a petition filed by the Institute that the case given to the CBI. The police would hand over all case records to the CBI in the next 10 days, and the agency would present a status report to the court in three weeks.
The bell made of Ashtadhatu (eight metals), which was displayed in the porch of the main entrance, weighed over 30 kg, It was fixed to a 60-kg wooden frame.
On April 30, 2013, the police sent a report to the Court of Judicial Magistrate, saying that no clues were found despite their best efforts. The IIAS was dissatisfied with the police probe and approached the High Court with a prayer to hand over the investigation to the CBI.
In the seven-page order, released to the media on Wednesday, the Division Bench observed that the police “appear not to acquire any dynamism, lacks initiative and is bereft of innovation.” Allowing the petition, the judges said: “The CBI has the wherewithal as well as the manpower to spread throughout the country to launch a hunt for the property as well as the culprits.”
