A rare manuscript written by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was stolen by unidentified miscreants from a Bihar school library in Gaya district, 120-km from here. Police suspect it is an organised racket by international smugglers dealing in antique.
PATNA: A rare manuscript written by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was stolen by unidentified miscreants from a Bihar school library in Gaya district, 120-km from here. Police suspect it is an organised racket by international smugglers dealing in antique.
The rare manuscript 'Gulistan', which was written in Persian language, was found missing from Tekari Raj Inter School library. Police officials said over telephone that it's stolen on Sunday night. The matter came to light when the school was re-opened on Monday and a complaint was lodged in this regard.
However, police interrogated the school principal Brijnandan Singh as they don't rule out his involvement in the affair. "Police have started investigation into the matter," an official said.
Reliable sources in district administration said the manuscript was kept in a steel almirah in principal's room. There were eight steel almirahs but thieves only broke the locks of one particular almirah in which the manuscript was kept. It raised serious doubts that how culprits knew about it without the involvement of school authorities.
During the investigation it was also highlighted that such a rare piece of historical importance was kept casually in school library as there was no adequate security arrangement for it.
Earlier, Magadh division commissioner S.K. Negi had cautioned the school authorities about its safety during his visit to the school.
Experts said that the value of manuscript was around Rs. 10 million in the market and more in the international antique market.
There are two theories on how Aurangzeb's 'Gulistan' arrived in this small town.
Firstly, in 18th century the then king of Alwar in Rajasthan had sold to this to his Tekari counterpart for Rs.10, 000.
It was later donated to the school that was established by the then queen of Tekari Rani Rajroop Kunwar in 1876 for education of her son Gopal Sharan, who later became the king of Tekari.
Secondly, the manuscript was presented as a gift to Tekari estate during Auurangzeb's visit. It was later donated to the school by Rani Kunwar.
"The rare manuscript was lying in the school for over 100 years," district officials said. The issue is likely to be raised in the ongoing winter session of the state assembly Tuesday by the opposition to expose the state government's failure to protect the rare manuscript.
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