Corbett's century-old gun on display after 69 years

One of the guns used by famous wildlife conservationist Jim Corbett, known for hunting down maneaters, is now on display at Chhoti Haldwani, also known as Corbett village, in the hill state of Uttarakhand, officials said.

Put up at the Ramnagar auditorium, the century-old gun is said to have come back to the area after more than 69 years, officials said.

The gun was brought back to India by the owner of an arms manufacturing unit -- John Rigby and Sons from Britain -- under the supervision of its owner Mark Newton, after the management of the Corbett park made a fervent appeal to display the gun for wildlife lovers.

Corbett is learnt to have deposited the gun with the governor of the United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh) -- Uttarakhand was part of Uttar Pradesh till 2000 -- when he was leaving India in 1947 after India's independence.

The gun passed on to the arms manufacturer through legal channels after a fee was paid for the prized property.

The motive behind getting the gun for display was to create awareness about wildlife conservation and propagating the vision of Corbett, an official told IANS.