SRINAGAR The Central Bureau of Investigation has given up its investigation into theft of Aurangzeb-era copy of the Holy Quran from SPS Museum here in 2003.
The premier investigation agency filed a status report before the high court, stating that investigations into FIR (No.106/2003) regarding the theft of the Quran Sharief were inconclusive and it has filed a closure report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar.
As hearing of a Public Interest Litigation pertaining to the theft and protection of artifacts came up for hearing, a division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, advocate Sharaf Wani, appearing vice R. A. Jan, senior counsel and amicus curie prayed for an adjournment. On her request, the court ordered listing of the PIL on October 16.
On one of the previous hearing, the court was informed by the Indias premier investigation that the copy of the Quran may be with National Archives of India New Delhi.
During investigation, it came to light that a holy book namely Quran Sharief with similar features was confiscated by the Crime Branch of New Delhi. Accordingly, the authorities of National Archives of India, New Delhi, were approached and relevant information about the said seized Quran Sharief including its photographs have been collected, the CBI had informed the court.
Efforts towards its comparison with the available description of Holy Quran, alleged to have been stolen from SPS museum, is underway. The report vide which the Quran presently kept in National Archives of India had been declared as an antiquity has also been collected from Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi and the same is under examination for the said purpose, the report had said.
The CBI had also informed that it was also scrutinizing the file pertaining to FIR (106/2003 in police station Rajbagh Srinagar which has collected from the Crime Branch Srinagar.
Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor, ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during his reign, which lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.
The judicial intervention has already led to retrieval of 31 copper and silver coins besides one-gun bearing accession number 412 along with other artifacts from Research Wing of the SPS libraries, which were gifted to Shimla Museum in 1973.
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