Bhubaneswar: In a major breakthrough, a team of Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch busted a racket involved in rare idol smuggling and seized two idols and arrested a person.
While the arrested person has been identified as Sayed Zilnoor alias Kata alias Raja of Jadupur, the cost of the two seized idols made of asta dhatu weighing 18.440 kg and 12.60 kg would be around Rs 2.5 crore in the international market.
According to STF IG Jatindra Koel, a team of STF led by DSP PR Satpathy, acting on a tip-off, raided the house of Sayed in Khandagiri police limits and seized the idols. He was arrested by the officials as he failed to produce any relevant documents on the idols.
Also Read: Farmers Call Odisha Bandh On Feb 21
During the investigation, the STF learnt that Sayed had looted the valuable idols from some temples along with his other aides to sell it for a pecuniary gain.
A case (2/19) under Sections 379, 411, & 120 (B) of the IPC has been registered against Sayed.
Till the filing of this report, the accused had been forwarded to the court.
Further investigation into the matter is underway to trace Sayed’s aides.
#WATCH | Special Task Force (STF) of @CIDOdisha busted an international racket involved in rare idol smuggling; the cops seized two idols made of asta dhatu and arrest of an accused from #Bhubaneswar #Odisha pic.twitter.com/07ZYV7sLR0
— Kalinga TV (@Kalingatv) February 13, 2019
Ms Kalinga