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An idol that was recovered. (Debasish Mukhopadhyay)
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Chakdah, (Nadia), Jan. 13: Around a thousand villagers started digging up a pond near here yesterday after rumours spread that ornaments could be found in the waterbody from where two Vishnu idols had been excavated the same day.
Sources said since Friday, the Chakdah block administration had engaged around 400 villagers to excavate the pond under the 100 day job scheme.
While digging the pond yesterday, some earthen pots and two stone idols of Vishnu, each two-foot-tall, were recovered. “Soon, news spread that those digging up the pond had got huge amount of gold ornaments. Villagers made a beeline for the pond and started digging it up. But nothing other than some earthen pots were found,” said the pradhan of Deuti gram panchayat and local BJP leader Jiten Bhowmik.
Chhaya Das, who had joined hands with others to dig up the pond, said she came to know that gold jewellery was recovered from the pond that belonged to Kalidasi Biswas, whose ancestors had received them from Raja Krishna Chandra Roy. “Villagers said Biswas’s ancestors had hidden jewellery in the pond. When we went there to find out, no one told us that ornaments were found. We still suspected there was gold underneath,” Das said.
Biswas, 85, said he had heard from his great grandfather that 300 years ago, the king had given some property to his ancestor Digambar Biswas. But he had never come across any hidden treasure.
A police team prevented the local people from digging up the pond spread over 10 bighas and seized the idols.
Chakdah BDO Biplab Mullick said: “The idols would be handed over to the Archeological Survey of India.”
A police officer said: “We can’t say when digging under the job scheme will resume.”
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