Three metal idols, estimated to be about 400 years old, were unearthed during excavation for a house construction project in Baghanki village near c, police said on Wednesday.
The antique idols have been taken into possession and the owner has been told to stall construction work, the police said, adding that the Archeology Department will now dig further to check if there are more idols in the site.
According to the police, the idols were found as the foundation for a new house was being dug using a JCB machine. Initially, the plot owner tried to conceal the discovery and even offered money to the JCB driver to keep the information hidden.
The driver, however, informed the Bilaspur police after two days and a police team reached the spot, they said. The idols recovered from the plot owner’s house include a standing idol of Lord Vishnu, an idol of Goddess Lakshmi and a joint idol of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Vishnu, they said.
The idols have been handed over to Deputy Director of Archeology Department Banani Bhattacharya and Dr Kush Dhebar by the Bilaspur police.
According to the police, the villagers wanted the idols to be handed over to the panchayat as they wanted to build a temple on the plot. The Archeology Department officials, however, refused their demand.
“These idols are the property of the government and no one can have personal rights on these. These will be kept in the museum of the Archeology Department after study in our laboratory. As per the preliminary examination, these idols seem to be around 400 years old. Excavation will also be done in the plot,” the deputy director of the Archeology Department said.
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