Antique Stolen from Ex-Deputy CM Singh Deo’s Palace
The manager of the palace Raj Soni lodged a complaint in this regard in the local police station: Reports
RAIPUR: An antique piece, a sculpture of elephant crafted from bronze, was stolen from the palace of former deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo in the district headquarters of Surguja in north Chhattisgarh, police said on Wednesday.
An unidentified thief broke into the palace of Mr. Singh Deo, the scion of the former Surguja royal family, in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday and decamped with the precious antique piece, police said.
The incident came to light late on Tuesday when the staff of the palace found the antique, placed at the gateway of the ‘Kothighar’, a part of the palace, missing.
The manager of the palace Raj Soni lodged a complaint in this regard in the local police station.
The footage of the CCTV installed in the palace showed the thief coming out of the ‘Kothighar’ with the antique piece at one am on Monday, police said.
Mr. Singh Deo is currently away on foreign tour, police said.
The former deputy chief minister has shifted to ‘Tapasya’, a newly built bungalow in Surguja town, and the royal family members usually stay in Kothigarh when they visit the place, sources said.
Private security guards are deployed for the safety of the palace.
The stolen artifact weighs around 15 kg and has a good antique value because of its intricate craft, sources said.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of BNS and efforts are on to identify the thief from the CCTV footage, investigating officer Manish Singh Parihar said.