Five of Ustad Bismillah Khan's shehnais were stolen, including four made of silver.
Renowed shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan's grandson Nazre Hasan has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for allegedly selling his shehnais to a jeweller for a meagre Rs 17,000.
Police sources say four shehnais - now melted - have been recovered. The jeweller had extracted the silver base and melted them. Only the wooden frames are intact. The family had said the shehnais were very precious for the maestro as they had been gifted to him by former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, Kapil Sibbal and Lalu Prasad Yadav. He used to play them only on special occasions, including Muharram.
The shehnais - five of them -- were stolen early last month and a case was filed after the family lodged a complaint with the Varanasi police. Along with the instruments, some memorabilia of the musician -- an award citation and two gold bangles -- had gone missing.
Bismillah Khan's grandson Razi Hassan had told news agency Press Trust of India that the theft took place when the family had gone to their ancestral house in Sarai Harha. "When we returned to our new house, we found that the door was open and someone had broken the lock of the trunk," he said.
The Bharat Ratna awardee's family has been demanding for a museum to preserve his memorabilia since his death in 2006.
Bismillah Khan's family has been based in Varanasi -- where the shehnai maestro was known as much for his music as his simple lifestyle. The sight of him doing his riyaaz (practice) on the ghats of Ganga or in front of the famous temple of Vishwanath had been a familiar one.