Jaipur: A joint team of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh police arrested two men from Karauli Sunday in what is being billed as the first major breakthrough in the investigation into the theft of a 16th-century cannon from the Narwar Fort in MP’s Shivpuri district.Police also seized a pickup truck allegedly used to transport the over 3.5-tonne cannon from MP to Rajasthan, though the artefact itself remains to be recovered.Police said the two accused are suspected to be the first link in the chain of suspects involved in the theft. They were arrested while travelling in the pickup truck police say was used in the crime and seen in CCTV footage on the day of the theft.The two accused, both from Karauli district, have been identified as Aman Kumar Meena of Palanpur and Timmu Ram Meena of Ganwada Meena.
The FIR in this case was registered at Narwar police station in MP after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reported on July 16 that one of the 14 cannons displayed at the fort’s Kacheri Mahal was stolen the previous night.Given the historical significance of the artefact, police in MP formed a special investigation team that tracked the pickup truck used in the theft by analysing CCTV footage, toll plaza records and technical evidence.The trail led investigators to Hindaun in Karauli, following which Rajasthan Police joined the probe.It was later established that Rajasthan police had received independent information that the pickup truck seized Sunday was supposed to enter the state on July 16 with a “weapons consignment”.The truck, however, broke through a police blockade and escaped before it could be intercepted.Investigators later linked the vehicle to the Narwar Fort theft, which led to Sunday’s arrests and helped them piece together the artefact’s movements immediately after the theft.Police said the cannon was first shifted from MP to Karauli’s Ganwada Meena village, before it was moved to a yet-unknown location.Police said they suspect the involvement of at least 20 people in the crime, including some who participated directly in the theft and others who helped conceal the artefact afterwards.
