6 held in bid to sell stolen idol

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Six persons have been arrested by the central Delhi police for allegedly trying to dispose of an antique stolen idol of “Lord Aadinath”, one of the founders of Jainism. The accused expected to fetch Rs 9 crores by selling the idol that was apparently stolen from a Rajasthan temple. The idol dates back to the year 1559.

Acting on a tip-off, the special staff of the central Delhi police sent a decoy customer to fix a deal for the statue with two persons in Kamla Market area of central Delhi on Friday.
The deal was fixed at Rs 9 crores with two persons following which four more people came in a Maruti Swift car with the idol.
The waiting police team then arrested all the accused, identified as Rabinder Nath Chand, George Eric Parker alias Sonu, Ganpati, Mukesh Singh, Satbir Sharma and Rahul and recovered the idol, besides impounding the vehicle.
A case was registered at the Kamla Market police station.
The idol, weighing 92 kg, was verified by the officials of the Archaeological Survey of India, who also told the police that it was made of ashtdhatu and was rare.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that they had procured the idol from two persons named John and Arif, who claimed to have stolen it from a Jain temple in Rajasthan.
The police is trying to ascertain their claims and trace the two accused John and Arif.