A file picture of the Cooch Behar palace

Cooch Behar, Aug. 11: The Archaeological Survey of India, which took over the Cooch Behar palace in 1982, is yet to open the armoury for public viewing as a proper security plan has not been prepared for its protection.

As of now, the district magistrate of Cooch Behar is in charge of the armoury, where guns used by the erstwhile princes are stored. The armoury is guarded by armed policemen, who have a camp on the palace compound.

The president of the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party, Asutosh Barman, said the district administration had announced in 2000 that the armoury had been handed over to the ASI. “Later, we came to know from the ASI that the items in the armoury would be put on display. But nothing has been done so far and the weapons and the guns are still under lock and key,” he said.

Sources in the district administration said even after joining the Indian union in 1950, the Cooch Behar princes continued to use the armoury and went out hunting with their guns till about 1970.

After the keys of the armoury were lost in 1999, the district administration broke it open and prepared an inventory of the weapons, swords, shields, guns and other items and sent it to the Union home ministry as well as the ASI, the sources said. The ASI wrote to the ministry seeking permission to display the weapons in the palace, where a museum was opened in 2002.

ASI superintendent of the Calcutta circle Tapan Jyoti Baidya said: “A few years ago, the home ministry had granted us permission to display the weapons; I do not remember the exact year. We had written to our director-general for proper security so that the weapons could be displayed, but we have not yet got the clearance.”

Baidya said a reminder would be sent to the ASI’s Delhi office.