News18
The police recovered items including gold coins weighing between 50 to 100 grams each, which is estimated to be worth Rs 8 to 10 crore.
(Image: X/@prashan33321687)
While searching, police found Vinod Yadav lying unconscious in the hallway and near him was a large bag filled with stolen artifacts
A man in Bhopal attempted to steal gold worth Rs 15 crore from a museum in manner inspired by Hrithik Roshan’s character in the Bollywood film ‘Dhoom 2’.
However his attempt at robbery met a bizarre twist after he was found unconscious inside the State Museum and priceless artifacts like ancient gold coins and jewellery were found lying beside him.
The accused, identified as Vinod Yadav is allegedly a professional thief and had entered the museum after buying a ticket on Sunday evening. However, he managed to hide inside the premises until the museum closed.
On Monday, the museum remained closed and according to police Yadav broke into the two gallery rooms and stole the artifacts during that time. According to an NDTV report, when the museum reopened on Tuesday at around 10.30 am, the staff found shattered glass and several valuable items missing.
Soon after the discovering, security personnel began to search the premises immediately. While searching, they found Vinod Yadav lying unconscious in the hallway and near him was a large bag filled with stolen artifacts. On searching the bag further, they found gold coins from the Gupta period, along with other items from the British and Nawab eras, which included jewellery as well utensils.
Investigations suggest that Yadav might have fallen from a height of over 23 feet while trying to escape and thereby injured his leg as well.
As per Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Riyaz Iqbal, “The accused seems to have tried to jump over the wall, but failed, leading to his injury.”
Over 50 fingerprints were collected from the museum and the police are now trying to probe if any accomplice was outside the museum.
The police recovered items including gold coins weighing between 50 to 100 grams each, which is estimated to be worth Rs 8 to 10 crore. However, DCP Iqbal said that the recovered goods could be valued to be around Rs 15 crore. He further said that these items were taken from just two rooms in the museum. “The entire museum houses artifacts worth more than ₹ 50 crore,” he added.
