Nur Islam Noyon:
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-13) has recovered a Vishnu idol made of stone worth about Tk 4 crore while being smuggled to India in Birganj upazila of Dinajpur. A member of the idol smuggling gang has been arrested in the operation.
RAB-13 Senior Assistant Director (Media) Flight Lt. Md. Saifullah Naeem and Birganj Police Station OC Abdul Gafur confirmed that a joint operation was conducted by RAB and police in Ajurnahar village of Shatgram union of Birganj upazila on Tuesday (February 4) night.
Md. Akkas Ali (52), son of the deceased Abed Ali, was arrested in the operation. Based on the information given by him, a Vishnu idol weighing 395 kg was recovered by digging 8 inches of soil under the gourd tree of the house.
Description of the recovered statue: Height: 66 inches, width: 30 inches, weight: 395 kg
The statue has a total of 13 small statues, including carvings of Saraswati and Lakshmi.
Estimated at 3 crore 95 lakh taka.
According to information from RAB and police, this gang had been collecting archaeological artifacts from different parts of the country for a long time and smuggling them abroad. The arrested Akkas Ali admitted during the initial interrogation that they had been illegally smuggling statues for a long time.
Birganj Police Station OC Abdul Gafur said, A case has been filed against the accused Akkas Ali.
The process of handing over the recovered statue to the Archaeology Department is underway.
Another smuggler escaped during the operation, and the operation to catch him is ongoing.
Law enforcement agencies said that strict action will be taken to protect the country’s archaeological resources and intelligence surveillance has been increased to catch other members of the idol smuggling gang.
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