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| HC grants CBI time to file status report of probe into theft of Mughal era holy Quran copy | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Nov 12: The state high court has granted CBI two weeks time to file status report about the investigation of a case pertaining to the theft of a copy of the Holy Quran bearing the seal of a Mughal Emperor from Shri Pratap Singh (SPS) Museum, Srinagar, in 2003.
The direction by a division bench of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey followed submissions by Assistant Solicitor General of India, S A Makroo, seeking two weeks time for filing status report about the investigation of the case (FIR No 106/2003).
The case was transferred to CBI in September. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, the bench also directed its listing in the week commencing from November 28. In September, the court transferred the case to CBI after statement by Kashmir's Inspector General of Police, admitting that the Crime Branch had failed to investigate the case fairly. The IGP had also suggested that CBI can "properly and effectively" investigate the case as it has "technical manpower and expertise to conduct the investigation in such type of cases".
The bench had also expressed its displeasure over the final report (closure report) submitted by Crime Branch, observing that it does not comply with the norms of investigation.
The PIL was filed in 2008 by a Srinagar based social organisation, seeking directions for the protection and conservation of artifacts, monuments and excavation sites in Kashmir besides directions to find the manuscript of the Quran and other prized articles.
The rare copy of the holy Quran was stolen from Srinagar's Sri Pratap Singh (SPS) Museum in broad daylight in September 2003. More than thirteen years have passed but there is no clue to the missing rare copy of Quran.
Pertinently, an FIR No 106/13 was registered by Rajbagh police station in Srinagar, soon after the employees of the Museum found the wooden locker broken and rare copy of the Quran missing.
Three years later police closed the case as "untraced". In 2007, the state government officials took up the matter with CBI, requesting it to investigate the matter, but its officials refused to intervene saying "the incident being local in nature the matter may be got investigated through local police."
The court's 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.
The PIL states the archaeological excavations and artefacts of Kashmiri's rich heritage have been neglected and alleged that a number of rare manuscripts and coins were missing from the SPS museum. |
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