The 10-inch idol weighing 10 kilograms was recovered by the APF following a sting operation in Kalafanta-5, Baichhawa of Banke district, two kilometers from the Nepal-India border. Topdun Lama of the monastery said the idol, made by a Kashmiri sculptor, using silver and brass is 1,100 years old.[break]
A group identifying itself as Himali Tiger had robbed the idol at gun-point. Lama said the group had also taken away four other idols. The chief of APF´s border security office Rajendra Basnet said that the APF personnel were on high alert following a rise in suspicious activities in Baichhawa area in the past few days.
A decoy sent by APF struck a deal to buy the idol for Rs 900,000 from one Rajaram Sharma. A team led by APF inspector Shankar Singh caught Sharma red-handed when he produced the idol. The APF will send the recovered idol to the Department of Archaeology for further investigations.
Related story
Idol of Buddha unveiled
