What began as the discovery of a “mysterious” ancient pot full of wealth in a Rajasthan village, setting off intense speculation and digging by locals in the dead of night while the administration engaged JCB excavators, has unravelled as a hoax and led to the arrest of two people.
On Saturday, some rose petals, incense sticks and other prayer accoutrements were spotted on some grazing land at Seedra village in Tonk district, about two hours south of Jaipur. Cattle herders informed local residents about this, and as the word spread, villagers gathered in large numbers. Subsequently, district administration officials, too, reached the spot and started excavation on Saturday evening, with some saying they suspected that a body or a foetus could be buried there.
However, after digging several feet down, the excavation revealed an old and heavy pot, about 2 feet in height, which, as per locals, had pieces of a gold-like material. Once the pot was lifted using a JCB, villagers jumped on it and tried to take the “yellowish” bricks, which some said they saw inside, while yelling “dhan hai, dhan hai (there’s wealth)”.
Bhuri Devi, a local resident, said, “There were yellowish bricks, the size of a soap bar. As locals gathered, police used lathis to disperse the crowd, while a policeman kept his foot on the pot to prevent people from stealing from it.”
Bhanwarpal, another local, also said he saw the “yellow bricks” and recalled seeing rose petals and incense sticks scattered on the spot.
Niwai tehsildar Naresh Gurjar then declared that the pot had been seized and kept in the Treasury office “in double lock”, with a seal to prevent tampering.
This further fuelled rumours, and late at night, locals discreetly started digging near the discovery site, hoping to find more “treasure”.
Busting the hoax
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On Monday, a team from the Archaeological Survey of India from Ajmer examined the spot, and subsequently, a team that included representatives from the ASI and the local administration opened the pot kept in the Treasury office, only to discover that it just contained dust.
Meanwhile, the investigation by local police also revealed a plan hatched by the local “tatlubaaz (con artists) gang”.
Niwai Deputy SP Ravi Prakash Sharma said there is a local gang active in Niwai that defrauds people by telling them about hidden wealth in lieu of payment. “Based on our input, we arrested two persons and retrieved metal bricks from them; the bricks look like they’re gold, but they are actually brass.”
“Mukesh Meena, 32, and Abhishek Meena, 24, are locals and hail from Seedra village. Mukesh runs a Facebook page under the name ‘Tatkal Aghori Maharaj’. Sharing their modus operandi, they said that they bury things deep in the earth and then tell people about dhan siddhi (attainment of wealth), a hidden treasure, in lieu of a sum of money. Then they take the victims to the spot and get them to perform puja, (before eventually ‘discovering’ hidden gold),” the Deputy SP said, adding that the two have been booked for cheating.
Not the first time
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This is not the first time that rumours of buried gold have captivated a village. In 2013, a sadhu’s dream had sparked similar excitement in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao and made national headlines. The sadhu, Shobhan Sarkar, reportedly dreamt that Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh, who died fighting the British in 1857, asked him to take control of the gold buried in the remains of his fort in Daundiya Kheda village of Unnao district.
Sarkar then informed the local administration, the state government and even the Centre about the dream. He managed to convince then Union minister Charan Das Mahant, who took the matter seriously, visited the spot and met Sarkar. Mahant then wrote to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister and Mines Minister, as well as related departments such as the ASI and the Geological Survey of India, about the “reserves”.
Eventually, the ASI began digging, only to conclude, days later, that there was no hidden gold.
