A man, said to be an antique dealer, was arrested and the police seized a two-and-a-half-century-old Quran, with gold inlays and illustrations, from his Alipore home on Friday morning.

Police said the Quran had been stolen from Guwahati in the first week of April. “During interrogation, we came to know that it was stolen either from a museum or a library,” said Soumen Mitra, deputy commissioner (detective department).

The burglary wing of the detective department received a tip-off a week ago that an antique dealer, identified as Rajendra Verma, had a huge collection. “Accordingly, we activated our sources. The first tip-off reached us last night. We were told that the suspect was a resident of Chetlahat Road,” said Mitra.

A team of 10 sleuths raided Verma’s home. An extensive search yielded the Quran. “It was hidden in a bookshelf, wrapped in cloth,” said an official of detective department. “The book is entirely handwritten in black ink,” said Mitra.

“The Indian Museum authorities have confirmed that it was written at least 250 years ago. Its pages are adorned with gold-plated designs. The value could run into lakhs,” said Mitra.