Thieves try to steal cannon from fort, wake up a village

MHOW: Some not-too-smart thieves tried to steal a cannon lying on the ground near the gates of Kushalgarh Fort recently. Realising that no one had thought of simply carting away the antique piece for the very good reason that it's too heavy, they did the smart thing and arrived in a van with gas cutters.
But the thieves hadn't accounted for all the banging and clanging that was part of the misadventure.They ended creating such a racket in the still, summer night last Friday that they woke up not only the watchman but an entire village. Seeing a crowd advancing towards the fort with torches, doubtless grumpy from being woken up in the middle of the night, they piled into their van and took off in the other direction. Villagers found the fort deserted when they arrived. But the scorch marks on the cannon were unmistakable. Besides, there are no resident ghosts in this 15th century fort.
Watchman Devkaran, who is on the rolls of Archaeological Survey of India, said he lives in a house next to the fort and was on night duty on Friday. He was at home because his mother was not well and must have dozed off, he explained. Just after midnight, he was woken by strange noises - a lot of hissing, followed by plenty of clanging. "I ran towards the fort on hearing the sounds. The metal of the cannon is very strong, due to which they were not able to cut it but there are clear signs that they tried to," the 41-year-old said.
Fellow watchman Gendalal Yadav, 61, who also lives near the fort said there are four cannons in the fort, two each on the eastern and western ends. Both canons on the eastern pillar and one on the other side fell after heavy rainfall loosened their base. As they were very heavy, it was not possible to place them again on the top, so pedestals for the eastern two were made on both sides of the gate while the third was left as it was. It's still lying there.
This is the piece of history that the thieves thought of selling as scrap. ASI conservator Kanhaiyalal Dabi said since nothing was stolen, no police case is required. But the theft attempt is a warning sign and they will move the cannon inside the fort, he said.
Badgonda police station in-charge Hitendra Singh Rathore said he hasn't received any complaint. "My police station cover a large area and many remote villages but we do send a patrol party to the fort often," he said.
The fort, built by Kushal Singh Jageerdar in 1409 when he migrated from Mewar, is in a very bad shape. ASI recently spent Rs 40 lakh to make it look presentable, at least from the outside. However, the court hall, queen's area and main palace are still in ruins and crores may be needed for complete renovation.
After Jageerdar, Pindaris took over and in the 18th Century, the Holkars captured it. According to Lalbag museum in-charge D P Pandey, Malhar Rao - the son of Holkar army commander Tukoji Rao-I - became a mutineer and was held prisoner in this fort. Until independence, it was used as a prison by the Holkars.
The fort is strategically unique as it has only one entrance and is surrounded by bastions on all four sides.