Hunt on, yet no trace of missing artefacts
Investigators have yet to find a clue to how the two Vishnu statues have been stolen from highly restricted cargo village and tarmac at the Zia International Airport (ZIA) where no-one can gain access without a pass.
National Central Bureau (NCB) of the police has sent a message to the Interpol informing them of the heist and seeking help in tracing the Gupta era relics and hunting down those responsible.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammed yesterday told The Daily Star, “We have not yet provided them with the details. Maybe this evening [yesterday] or tomorrow [Tuesday] we will give them the information to be posted on their website.”
Law enforcers including the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have been on a countrywide search for the Vishnu relics. But as of filing this report at 9:00pm, they had no possible leads.
So far 11 people have been detained in connection with the theft. No arrest was made yesterday.
Suraiya Begum, a joint secretary of the cultural affairs ministry, told The Daily Star last night, "As far as I know there is no development in the investigation and efforts to retrieve the statues.”
Meanwhile, the government has decided not to send the remainder of the artefacts until the stolen idols are retrieved.
Despite protests from citizens and art connoisseurs, it was sending the statues along with 143 other artefacts to the Guimet Museum in Paris under an agreement signed with France. Forty-two relics have already been shipped to the French capital.
Education and Cultural Affairs Adviser Ayub Quadri yesterday said, "I think we should not send the rest of the artefacts before resolving the theft case.”
Talking to The Daily Star the same day, a number of incumbent and former government officials said it is not possible to make off with the relics weighing 64 kilograms without connivance of those working in the area.
Civil aviation officials and cargo terminal staff said the statues, sculpted around 1,500 years ago, were stolen sometime between 10:00pm Friday and 12 noon Saturday.
Staffers from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Biman Bangladesh Airlines, customs, Ansar, armed police battalion, air force, police, and intelligence officials were working in the area during that time.
Besides, Air France, Voyager Airlines, Homebound Courier Services and the French embassy personnel were present.
“Nobody even from those agencies can get into the area beyond airside cargo check-in without security passes,” said Khurshed Alam Sarkar, a deputy director of CAAB.
An official seeking anonymity told The Daily Star last night, “Whoever has stolen the statues must have had help from the ones working in the area between the cargo terminal and the aircraft.”
ASM Shahjahan, former adviser to caretaker government and an ex-IGP, said it is not possible for an outsider to go there and pull off such a daring theft. Officials present in the area are very likely to have a role in the incident.
“An organised group did this according to a plot. The investigators should work to unmask the mastermind behind the heist,” he added.
During a visit to the cargo village and runway at the ZIA yesterday, The Daily Star correspondents found around 100 people working there.
Most of those queried said they did not know anything about the incident as they were not on duty during that time.
Meanwhile, sources close to the investigation said the customs completed checking of the artefacts at 10:00pm Friday and handed those over to Air France. They have the video footage of the entire checking.
The relics had been carried beyond the airside check-in in trolleys of Homebound, the shipper agent hired by the France government. With the help of Voyager Airlines, the company that conducts loading and unloading, the Air France completed placing the artefacts on the pallets at around 3:30am Saturday and ferried those to the aircraft at around 12:00pm.
“So we assume the theft took place in between 10:00pm Friday to 12:00 noon on Saturday,” said one of those involved in investigation of the heist.
Police sources said an official of the cultural affairs ministry had requested the police forces to leave the cargo village area at around 2:00am, saying no more security escort was needed.
Meanwhile, a number of prominent citizens yesterday lodged a complaint with the Anti-corruption Commission and with the chairman of the National Board of Revenue, citing major irregularities in shipping the artefacts to France.
Shamsul Wares, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury, Vaskar Rasa, Prof Rehnuma Ahmed, and Nisar Hossain are among the signatories to the complaint.
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