DRI vs Nanda case: DRI recovered antique Mughal sculpture during search
The officials recovered another set of antique wooden sculptures and carvings from the godown--12 ornately carved wooden columns with floral pilasters, 12 wooden archways with carvings of birds and flowers on them and 12 wooden pedestals.
In the first week of February, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had arrested Vijay Nanda, an American businessman of Indian origin, from his residence in Girgaum Chowpaty in connection with smuggling of antiques and artifacts to the US, Europe and Hong Kong.
In a follow up operation on February 11, the DRI officials conducted second round of searches at a godown in an Industrial Estate in Byculla, Mumbai.
The officials recovered another set of antique wooden sculptures and carvings from the godown. There were 12 ornately carved wooden columns with floral pilasters, 12 wooden archways with carvings of birds and flowers on them and 12 wooden pedestals.
According to DRI, the said articles are antiquities protected under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.
"The wooden sculptures belong to the Shahjahani style of architecture, which is a part of the Late Mughal style of architecture of the 17th and 18th Century. Similarly styled columns have are also found in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture of the 19th Century", said the DRI official.
The recovered columns appear to be the part of a grand haveli in Gujarat or Rajasthan. DRI is also taking assistance of the experts from Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for formal certifications.
This godown was camouflaged as an abandoned mezzanine floor in the industrial estate. It could not be searched earlier as Nanda had denied having keys of the said godown.
"Even during his interrogation he stated that the said godown was vacant and he has lost keys of the said godown", the official said.
During the searches it was found that all these sculptures had been packed properly and were in a ready to ship condition. The wooden antiquities have been seized under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
Nanda has been arrested and is in judicial custody. In his confessional statement had not spoken about the existence of these antiques in possession.
Earlier, the agency searched the residence of Nanda and his godowns in Byculla and recovered at least six stone sculptures of tenth century AD mostly stolen from temples in the southern and eastern part of India. The valuation of these items in the international market is in crores.
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