Chandraketugarh smuggler in cop net

KOLKATA: A week and a half after a report was published in TOI on a smuggling racket operating from villages near the archaeological site of Chandraketugarh, police on Wednesday arrested a person and seized three sacks full of antiquities from his possession.
According to North 24-Parganas SP Champak Bhattacharya, following the leads provided by TOI, a team from Deganga police station conducted raid at Hadipur village near the archaeological site and arrested the person.The SP, however, refused to divulge the name of the accused. "We will interrogate him to find out if he indeed is part of any smuggling racket," he said.
The SP added that he has informed the DM and the state archaeological directorate about the arrest and the seizure.
Dilip Chatterjee, acting director of the directorate, however, said: "I am yet to get any information from police."
Deputy director Amal Roy, too, got the information from TOI. He said, "Once we get the information from police officially, we will help them in every possible way."
Tapas Banerjee, keeper of the State Archaeological Museum, lauded the steps taken by police. "Better late than never," he said. "Though late, police of course have done a commendable job. But they will have to continue with such raids to stop smuggling of valuable antiquities," added Banerjee.
Actually, Monday's arrest could just be the beginning. If villagers of Berachampa-Deulia (near the 2000-year-old site) are to be believed, almost every household of the area possesses some Chandraketugarh relics - ranging from beads of semi-precious stones to terracotta plaques and figurines. "But nobody will show you a thing unless you come with some reference from Kolkata or Delhi," a Berachampa youth had told TOI a couple of weeks ago.
"There are three to four persons in this area who buy these items from local residents and sell them to people from Kolkata or Delhi or Mumbai," another local resident had said. This indicates that there might be a racket operating from the Chandraketugarh area with national and international links.
Even today, antiquities from Chandraketugarh are available for sale in the international market. Auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's have sold relics from Chandraketugarh. Even now, a Sung-era terracotta figurine from this area is available for sale on ebay.com for $17,953.51.
According to an information and culture department official, apart from professional smugglers, those involved in selling these relics include well-known collectors and renowned teachers of Indian and foreign colleges and universities.