‘Treasure hunt’ in Mirpur yields nothing

The hunt for “hidden treasure” at a house in Dhaka’s Mirpur-10 has been called off after no trace of metallic object was found there.

Digging began on July 21 for the much-talked about “hidden treasure” reportedly buried under a one-storey house in Mirpur during the 1971 Liberation War.

The search was called off today after two separate teams of experts from Geological Survey of Bangladesh and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology ( BUET) found no trace of metallic objects buried under the house using GPR Scanner, Dadan Fakir, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, told The Daily Star.

The tests were conducted between 1:00pm to 4:00pm today, said the OC.

The house became a talk of the city as locals and enthusiasts thronged the area during the excavation work and even for the last couple of days.

Four policemen were kept on guard at the house since July 21 in connection with the hunt for “hidden treasure”.

The police guard was lifted today, the OC added.

Earlier, two general diaries were filed with Mirpur police by one Abu Tayob from Teknaf in Cox's Bazar on July 10 and another one by the present house owner, Monirul Alam.

In the GD, Abu Tayob of Teknaf claimed there was hidden treasure under the house. He said Dilshad Khan, its original owner and a former airport official, went to Pakistan after 1971.

Tayob learned about the “hidden treasure” from his close friend Syed Alam, who lives in Pakistan and is on a visit to Bangladesh now.

Alam in 2014 informed Tayob that there were around two maunds of gold and some diamonds underneath that building saying Dilshad got those from airport and hid those in a drum under the house.

In 1986, Dilshad visited Bangladesh to recover the valuables in vain. He returned to Pakistan and passed away in 1987.

Alam somehow learned about it and came to Bangladesh in 2015. He stayed in that house as a tenant for eight months but failed to get anything.

On July 9, Tayob and Alam came to Dhaka from Teknaf to occupy the “hidden treasure” and discussed with the present owner.

As they failed to reach an agreement, Tayob filed the GD so that no single person could get the “treasure”.

Tayob alleged he was in police custody for three days and was released on July 12.

Owner Monirul Alam also filed a GD on July 13 in this regard.

Eventually, the district administration started the excavation in assistance with the police and the Department of Archaeology.

Monirul said he bought the house built on a two-katha plot from one Selim Reza in 2010 and planned to develop a new building there.