Bangalore: A 15th Century bronze statue Lord Mahavishu was traced by customs officials Bangalore Airport hours before being smuggled Malaysia After being declared as a new but replica of ancient sculptures. An antique dealer from Tamil Nadu has been arrested in connection with an attempt to smuggle an idol.
with sources customs intelligence unit (CIU) Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) said the seizure came to light on Friday evening after a customs team suspected a consignment in the cargo bay that was to be shipped to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. He opened the packet to find the three feet tall and well polished statue Lord Mahavishnu Made of bronze. “The exporter had declared it as a newly constructed bronze antique replica statue. But since the statue had some salient features of an ancient piece that is more than a few hundred years old, our team decided to get it inspected by experts in the field.” said an investigating officer.
On Saturday, a team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) visited the KIA cargo section and examined the bronze statue of Mahavishnu, identified only as a 28-year-old man from Kumbakonam, in the presence of the exporter. TN. “We managed to bring the exporter to Bengaluru through an air courier agency, he had booked the idol in Tamil Nadu as we suspected that the customs team reaching him on the consignment would prompt him to flee,” the official said.
After a thorough inspection at the Bengaluru airport, the ASI team declared that the bronze statue is in fact an antiquity over 500 years old. Ancient sculpture experts said that the bronze statue may be from the 15th century Vijayanagara period and has been modified to look like a new piece. The young antique dealer was immediately arrested for smuggling and booked under section 11(c) of the Customs Act 1962 for exporting a prohibited item as per the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972, outside the Indian borders. Prohibits the sale or export of goods of antiquity. ,
The suspect was produced before a magistrate in the city on Saturday, from where he was remanded in judicial custody. Sources said the Bengaluru Customs team is further probing the matter to see if more people are involved in smuggling of antiquities.
with sources customs intelligence unit (CIU) Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) said the seizure came to light on Friday evening after a customs team suspected a consignment in the cargo bay that was to be shipped to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. He opened the packet to find the three feet tall and well polished statue Lord Mahavishnu Made of bronze. “The exporter had declared it as a newly constructed bronze antique replica statue. But since the statue had some salient features of an ancient piece that is more than a few hundred years old, our team decided to get it inspected by experts in the field.” said an investigating officer.
On Saturday, a team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) visited the KIA cargo section and examined the bronze statue of Mahavishnu, identified only as a 28-year-old man from Kumbakonam, in the presence of the exporter. TN. “We managed to bring the exporter to Bengaluru through an air courier agency, he had booked the idol in Tamil Nadu as we suspected that the customs team reaching him on the consignment would prompt him to flee,” the official said.
After a thorough inspection at the Bengaluru airport, the ASI team declared that the bronze statue is in fact an antiquity over 500 years old. Ancient sculpture experts said that the bronze statue may be from the 15th century Vijayanagara period and has been modified to look like a new piece. The young antique dealer was immediately arrested for smuggling and booked under section 11(c) of the Customs Act 1962 for exporting a prohibited item as per the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972, outside the Indian borders. Prohibits the sale or export of goods of antiquity. ,
The suspect was produced before a magistrate in the city on Saturday, from where he was remanded in judicial custody. Sources said the Bengaluru Customs team is further probing the matter to see if more people are involved in smuggling of antiquities.