Hyderabad, Sep 11: The Hyderabad Police cracked a case of theft of antique items from Hyderabad’s Nizam Museum within a week and arrested two people in connection with the Hollywood-style heist. The items that were stolen included a 4 kg gold tiffin box studded with diamonds and jewels which one of the thieves used it every day to have food, the Hyderabad police revealed.

"Metal value of these would be over Rs.1 cr, but in the international market, its value in the auction can go over Rs. 100 cr. There is no police security for this museum. Its run by a private trust, it's their responsibility to provide security" Anjani Kumar, Commissioner of Hyderabad Police was quoted by ANI.

Among the precious things stolen were the golden tiffin box, jewel-studded cup and saucer set and a spoon studded with rubies. All these priceless articles which belonged to the 7th Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur were recovered from the accused.

The Nizam’s Museum has all the collection of Nizam Osman Ali Khan, the 7th and the last Nizam, and also his father’s wardrobes. It also features the massive wardrobe of the 6th Nizam, a 150-year-old manually operated lift, and 200-year -old proclamation drums.

The galleries at the museum stock silver and gold artefacts and replicas of landmark constructions. Reports inform that after they stole the items from the Museum, they escaped to Mumbai and lived a lavish life in a luxury hotel before being tracked down by the Police. The theft took place on the night of September 2 when two men entered the museum at Purani Haveli in the old quarters of Hyderabad through a ventilator shaft. Reports inform that the two removed an iron grill and managed to get into the museum.

Earlier this week, Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, the grandson of the 7th Nizam and president of the Nizam Family Welfare Association had written a letter to Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and requested him to accord “utmost priority” to recovering the missing artefacts. A total of 15 special teams were formed as part of the probe to detect the theft that took place on September 2 from the third gallery of the museum at Purani Haveli.

The police suspected involvement of more than one person in the crime who gained entry into the building through a ventilator after the CCTV footage of two masked men seen walking out of the museum and riding a motorcycle went viral on social media.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2018 06:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).