Man who stole Nizam’s gold tiffin worth crores used it daily to have food say cops
The thieves, who made away with a gold tiffin box, a cup studded with rubies, diamonds and emeralds, a saucer and a spoon, fled to Mumbai and lived in a luxury hotel before being nabbed.
Hyderabad Sep 11: The antique items, including a gold tiffin box worth several crores, which were stolen from the Nizam’s Museum in Hyderabad last week have been recovered.
The thieves, who made away with a gold tiffin box, a cup studded with rubies, diamonds and emeralds, a saucer and a spoon belonging to the seventh Nizam, allegedly fled to Mumbai and lived in a luxury hotel before being nabbed.
The special police teams formed to probe the case said that Nizam’s three-tier gold tiffin box was used by one of the thieves to have food every day. All stolen items have now been recovered.
Fifteen special teams were formed as part of the probe to detect the theft that took place on September 2 from the third gallery of the museum at Purani Haveli. “All (stolen) items recovered. Two accused have been apprehended,” an official said.
After CCTV footage of two masked persons (seen walking out of a building and driving a bike) went viral on social media, police suspected that at least two people committed the offence after gaining entry through the ventilator before allegedly indulging in the theft.
Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of Nizam VII of Hyderabad and president of the Nizam Family Welfare Association, had last week written a letter to Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and requested for taking utmost priority 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,”
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, Khan added.
(With PTI inputs)
