20 detained in connection with Rewa museum heist

"A total of 15-20 suspected persons were rounded up by police in this regard and they are being questioned even as some of the stolen goods including a royal robe and few ornamental items were recovered during a search operation from bushes outside the museum," Rewa SP Bhagwant Singh Chouhan told reporters today.

Robbers allegedly decamped with as much as one quintal of silver and other valuables from the museum in Rewa fort yesterday and stabbed to death security guard Kemla Prasad, for putting up resistance.

The SP, however, disputed the claim of local valuers that the value of stolen articles could be in crores of rupees.

"It (the value) must be in lakhs as majority of the stolen goods are of mixed metals with a covering of silver and gold but definitely their antique value must be on a higher side," Chouhan said.

Rewa Police and Special Task Force (STF) are conducting joint investigations into the robbery.

The valuables stolen from the museum included a gold lamp, three silver lamps, some pistols and ornamental fabrics used to adorn elephants on special occasions.