Labourers turn gold diggers, caught

Labourers found the coins worth around Rs 42 lakh cost of the gold while they were digging the earth for the construction of a swimming pool at N V Gadgil School run by Pune Municipal Corporation PMC in Shaniwar Peth.

The labours sold about half the coins to a Khadki-based jeweller and were planning to flee with the rest when, acting on a tip off, the crime branch of Pune police nabbed them as well as the jeweller and recovered 847 gold coins weighing around 3.2 kg on Friday. The coins made of 24-carat gold are believed to be about 500 years old.

The police have arrested three labourers identified as Shivappa Husnappa Gadekar 40 of Tingre Nagar in Vishrantwadi, Mallesh Parashram Nadvinkari 25 from Karnataka and Bhimsha Pitappa Bansode 40 from Solapur and the jeweller Surajbhan Agarwal under sections of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

Deputy Commissioner of Police crime Anil Kumbhare said, 8220;Most of the coins carry the mark of a saint, referred to as protector of Venice in Italy on one side and of infant Jesus on the other. These are Roman coins from the medieval period. The remaining coins are the 8220;asharfis8221; or 8220;mohurs8221; having Urdu and Persian inscriptions and were in use during Akbar8217;s regime in the 15 th century.8221;

Kumbhare said the labourers found the coins on Thursday while digging. 8220;Constable Bapusaheb Jadhav of the Anti Dacoity Squad ADS obtained this information from his sources. Following the inputs, a team led by inspector Ram Pathare of ADS nabbed the three labourers. From the labourers, the police recovered 425 coins weighing 1.5 kg worth around Rs 20 lakh,8221; he said. 8220;Interrogations revealed they had sold more coins to Shri Ganesh Jewellers in Khadki. So the police nabbed the jeweller and seized 422 coins weighing 1.65 kg worth Rs 22 lakh from him,8221; he added.

The police said the labourers did not even inform their superiors at the construction site and had plans to escape with the coins. The jeweller was arrested for not informing the police when the labourers approached him to sell the coins.

ACP Sangramsinh Nishandar said Archeological Survey of India ASI authorities will be studying the coins. They would be handing over the coins to the ASI after obtaining the permission from the court.