Dargah worker held for theft of 500-yr old relics

NEW DELHI, May 26: A daily worker at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia has been arrested in connection with the alleged theft of 500-year-old relics from the 15th century shrine.

The stolen items include kalshis, a gumbaj and other adornment of the tomb. One of the most revered shrines of the Muslim community, the dargah is also of great historic and cultural significance. “We have recovered some of the lost items from the accused house, Mohammed Salim, who worked as a sweeper at the dargah. He was regularly selling these to a local kabariwalla (junk-dealer),” Narendra Pal Singh of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station said. Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Committee members, however, complained that the police was doing little about nabbing the junk-dealer who had been working hand-in-glove with Salim.

The committee also alleged that the items were burgled under the nose of the police, who are stationed within half-a-km of the dargah.