Shastri’s gold watch stolen

New Delhi
Sept. 9: A gold wristwatch of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was stolen from Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial in New Delhi. The watch was gifted to Shastri by his Russian counterpart Alexia Kosygin during the Tashkent conference in 1966.

Although the theft took place on September 3, the matter was reported to the police on Sunday. When the authorities of the memorial discovered that the watch was missing from the showcase, they started a frantic search operation to trace the watch, but were unsuccessful.

Later, Mr A.K. Das, director of the memorial, lodged a complaint with the police. Mr Das stated in his complaint to Tughlak Road PS that he and his staff had conducted an independent inquiry into the incident but had not been able to find the watch.

The police took fingerprints and other necessary forensic evidences from the memorial and have started an investigation to nab the thief. An FIR under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered. Sources said the memorial has no safety equipment like CCTV cameras.

“It also lacks basic security equipment and necessary police protection for safeguarding the cultural heritage,” the sources said. Mr Anil Shastri, the son of the late prime minister, said the prime suspects are an unidentified couple and another man who spent “more than the usual time” there on September 3.

“The officials had written to the CPWD asking them to provide locks for showcases which exhibit rare articles of Shastri but they were not provided,” he added.