A local court in Hyderabad on Tuesday found two burglars, who had stolen jewellery from the Nizam’s Museum in Purani Haveli, guilty of the crime and sentenced both of them to two years of imprisonment. The court also asked both of them to pay a penalty of Rs 400 each.
The Hyderabad Commissioner's Task Force, South Zone, had arrested 23-year-old Mohammad Ghouse Pasha and Mohammed Mubeen (24) in September 2018, after they stole a gold tiffin box weighing 2 kg, a cup, saucer, and spoon studded with rubies, diamonds and emeralds. The case was a sensational one as the items belonged to the Nizams, the erstwhile rulers of Hyderabad state.
Taking to Twitter, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said, "Two years of imprisonment awarded to both the offenders in the sensational Nizam museum theft case. The case was detected by Hyderabad police in a record time and we proved the charge in the court of law and secured conviction."
"Public support was a major contribution in this detection," he added.
2 years of imprisonment awarded to both the offenders in the sensational Nizam museum theft case . The case was detected by Hyd police in a record time and we proved the charge in the court of law and secured conviction. Public support was a major contribution in this detection
— Anjani Kumar, IPS (@CPHydCity) February 11, 2020
At the time of the arrest, the police had said that the duo had recced the location around 30 to 35 days before the crime, knowing that CCTV footage is usually deleted after 30 days. The two identified and marked a tree, which was outside a ventilator that could be broken into, around four to five days before the theft.
Ghouse broke into the museum through the ventilator using a 10-metre rope. The accused then escaped to Mumbai, from where they were arrested by the police after being tracked down.
The Nizam's museum showcases several personal belongings of the Nizams, the rulers of erstwhile Hyderabad State, which included gifts received by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last Nizam.
The museum is also home to a 150-year-old manually operated lift and an entire room that made up the wardrobe of the sixth Nizam, who was the richest man in the world in the 1930s.