A decaying zamindar-era property that is soon to be handed over by its owners to real estate developers turned into a tourist spot after treasure hunters came calling to unearth buried riches.

Hundreds have visited the 80-katha “Ghosh zamindari” at Harinavi, in South 24-Parganas, since intruders entered the property twice in as many days to dig for vaults supposedly packed with gold ingots, gems and other treasures.

Sudhangshu Chakraborty, a 73-year-old artisan who has been working at the address for over five decades, told Metro on Tuesday that he was offered money and a share of the “hidden treasure” when he accosted the seven trespassers on Sunday.

“One of them asked me, ‘How much do you want? Rs 10 lakh, 20 lakh, 30 lakh? We will also give you a share of the riches buried here’,” he said.

The group fled when Sudhangshu shouted for help and some of his workers came running towards the spot.

A decrepit building stands in the middle of the estate, adjacent to which is a large Durga dalan with several rooms attached to it. The plot also has a row of one-room tenements housing 35 families. The Ghosh property, nurtured by Haramohan Ghosh, is over two centuries old.

The Ghosh clan used to be the richest in the area but like most other zamindar families the descendants have fallen on hard times and gone their separate ways. Anuj Ghosh, the only one among the four heirs who lives in the building, is an employee of a city college.

Anuj wasn’t home when his wife Nandita spotted the trespassers a little after dusk on Sunday and alerted Sudhangshu, who lives close by and has been associated with the Ghosh family for 55 years.

Sudhangshu said the treasure hunters were digging a spot between the main building and the Durga shrine when he confronted them. “The intruders were well-built youths carrying shovels.”

Two of the men were again spotted in the estate around 8.40pm on Monday. They fled when Sudhangshu’s workers raised the alarm. A team from Sonarpur police station was deployed after Anuj filed a complaint.

Sudhangshu also claimed to have written to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to confirm whether any antiques were buried somewhere on the premises.

But Tapanjyoti Baidya, the superintendent of the ASI office in Calcutta, said he had only “heard” about the incident and not received any letter. “The state archaeology department handles such cases first. We don’t investigate claims like these unless there is a formal application, but we will send a team to the site within two or three days.”

Amal Roy, the state superintendent of archaeology, said the house on the plot would not be more than 150 years old. “But we won’t be surprised if there is a vault buried somewhere because it was quite common for people to accumulate ‘treasures’ in those days, mostly shells and coins.”

According to Roy, any structure over a hundred years old is deemed to be a place of historical value and treated as a state treasure.

The police suspect someone with an eye on the plot is behind the “treasure rumour”. The subdivisional officer of Baruipur, Abdul Goni, also did not rule out the angle.

Anuj didn’t name Sudhangshu but indicated that he and his siblings didn’t fully trust the artisan, who had set up the workshop on that plot at the invitation of the Ghosh brothers’ grandfather. The arrangement was that Sudhangshu would sculpt a beautiful Durga idol for the family puja every year. “Once we hand over the property to a developer of our choice, Sudhangshubabu will have to move out anyway,” Anuj said.

But the prospect of a property dispute triggering the treasure talk didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Class XII student Rina Sen, who travelled over 5km from Baruipur with her friends — all in their school uniform — to “see the hidden riches” on Tuesday.