Stolen Bangladeshi Vishnu relics found in pieces in garbage

Dec 28, 2007, 14:26 GMT

Dhaka - Security forces in Bangladesh have recovered the two missing Hindu Vishnu relics from a garbage dump on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, Cultural Ministry officials said Friday.

The ancient artifacts, broken into pieces, were retrieved from the dump after it was apparently stolen from the airport about a week ago, a senior security officer said.

The authorities suspect the images were smashed into pieces to avoid countrywide police surveillance after a state of high alert was announced soon after the relics were found missing.

'The seventh century statues of Lord Vishnu were fragmented into 13 pieces before these were abandoned by a suspected crime ring at the airport,' said Major Khairul Anam of the elite Rapid Action Battalion which led the search operation.

Eight people, including a former lawmaker, were detained overnight by police for interrogation.

Sources said the disclosures by the detainees to police led to the recovery of the ancient relics.

The National Museum authorities confirmed that the broken pieces were from the stolen relics ending a week-long hunt.

Bangladeshi officials claimed the priceless artifacts were stolen from the airport when it was being loaded on an Air France cargo flight along with more than 140 other museum pieces.

The artifacts were to be displayed at an exposition in France arranged by the Paris museum Guimet.

France-Bangladesh relations were under strain as Bangladesh unilaterally cancelled its accord with France on cooperation between the museums of the two countries.

Officials of both countries blamed one another for not taking adequate security during the shipment of the relics.

Bangladesh's Culture Ministry head Dr Ayub Quadri resigned from office, accepting moral responsibility for the theft of the Vishnu relics.