Is ex CBI boss Ashwini Kumar involved in idol theft case?

Looking for a gubernatorial appointment after a successful stint as the Central Bureau of Investigation director, Ashwani Kumar, is likely to face a slew of allegations of shielding idol smugglers and installing a fake 350-year Kamru idol in a temple in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Kumar as deputy inspector general of police of the Kinnaur range headed an investigation and tracked down three smugglers, who stole 11 idols and recovered four idols but not before the idols had been shipped to-fro to Italy. In the process, Kumar three accused off the hook.
The case pertains to a theft in 1993 in Sangla’s ancient Bodh temple Kamroo. The lock of the ancient temple were broken early morning and idols lifted by thieves. One Amarjit Singh with Dharam Lal from Delhi were staying in a hotel there. They had driven in a Maruti where they were handed over the idols by local thieves. Amarjit along with Avinderpal Singh too the idols to Delhi in the car while others headed back to Delhi by bus. The temple priests raised an alarm and a case was registered by the police.
The theft was highlighted by media and the police was under tremendous pressure to recover the idols. The police with DIG Kumar as chief of the team with SP Kinnaur in tow, recovered the idols from the security staff of the state guest house, Himachal Bhawan in New Delhi, after getting a tip off from the accused that the idols were delivered to the gate keepers of the landmark building.
Two idols were recovered from Amarjit’s shop in Jama Masjid area in addition to 11 other idols and 46 paintings. Amarjit took the police to Arun Mehra in Greater Kailash, from whom four idols were recovered.
After Kumar moved out from the DIG of the Kinnaur region, B S Thind took over the charge. When investigation reports were presented to Thind, he discovered several discrepancies in the way investigation was carried out and found a deliberate attempt on the part of the police to shield the masterminds of the case: Dharam Paul, Arvind Paul and Beli Ram Sharma. Thind said that Sharma and another accused (Ranzo Rossy) who took the idols to Italy were not arrested despite the police having obtained arrest warrant against them. Sharma reportedly was the one who called and placed the idols in Himachal Bhawan in Delhi and even wrote a letter to the police request that the matter may not be taken up. Sharma claims that upon reading in the newspaper about the idol theft, he called up Rossy and returned the idols which they he had purchased.
Angered why Kumar had favoured Sharma, Thind raised the issue with higher authorities but to no avail. However, a court order upheld Thind’s contentions. Kinnaur District Session judge Ravinder Prakash in December 2007 passed strictures against Kumar as investigating agency head. “In fact, there appears to be an attempt on part of the investigating agency to screen some of the accused who appear to be involved in the conspiracy to commit offences of theft of such invaluable idols which were not antiques but were being worshipped by the public at large from generation to generation,” Prakash said in his judgment on December 21, 2007. The three accused, Dharam Paul, Arvind Paul and Beli Ram Sharma were earlier discharged by the trial court. The session judge not only flayed the investigating agency it took to task the trial court. “There appears to be undue haste on part of the trial court to discharge such accused,” the session judge noted in the order.
Prakash even said that his order be placed before the Himachal Pradesh Home Secretary and state DGP. Incidentally, Kumar was the DGP of Himachal Pradesh, when the court passed the order. A DIG was put in-charge to verify the claims of Thind. “How could the DIG give an adverse report against the DG of police?” questions Thind.
Thind wrote to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Dhumal Principal Home Secretary P C Kapoor and sought a personal meeting and explained the case but was denied any meeting. However, Kumar was then appointed as CBI director but Thind could not get the government to respond.
Having exhausted all the options, Thind has written a complaint to Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas, who is expected to take up the matter soon. Kumar, despite attempts could not be contacted.
Thind said he approached the CVC after Himachal chief minister and home secretary did not pay heed to his presentations and official submissions.
“Since 1998 I have been submitting to the government of (HP CM) Dhumal about the dubious role of Ashwini Kumar and Mardi (present HP Additional director general of police) in the investigation of the Kamru idol theft case,” Thind wrote to the CVC, a copy of which is available with the Day After. Even the court has ruled against the investigating agency officials but nothing happened, he alleged.
“Unfortunately, Ashwini Kumar was the DGP at that time and Mandi was IGP, hence no action was taken on this (court) judgment. The matter was brought to the notice of the CM by me personally in order to prevent an officer like Kumar from taking over as the CBI director, but Dhumal intentionally did not inform the government of India regarding this complaint,” Thind wrote in the letter.
Requesting the CVC to conduct a proper inquiry, Thind sought for a thorough probe to determine that the idols recovered were genuine or fake.
The HP government however had got an inquiry done in the matter but Thind says that a junior officer is unlikely to submit a report against a senior. “How could a DIG be expected to comment adversely on the conduct of a superior police officer especially the CBI director,” alleges the former additional director general of police.
Thind’s whistle blowing has been systematically suppressed by his senior, Kumar.
According to sources, the HP government moved a file against Thind. But Thind reply to the HP secretary A K Mohapatra virtually trashed the government’s move to hit out at Thind and official rivalry was never taken up.


Kamru – Paradise on Earth
The statues come from the serene region on Himachal Pradesh’s Sangla Valley. Some of the idols stolen are around 350 years old. The market value of such antique idols including Buddha idols ranges anything from Rs 10 crore to 50 crore each, according to sources.
Kamru fort stands at an altitude of 2600 m above sea level, in the beautiful Sangla Valley. The fort is set in a picturesque location and is entered through a series of gates. At the main gate of the Kamru Fort, a stunning image of Lord Buddha greets you. The graceful wooden balcony, at the top of the fort, and the idol of Kamakhya Devi (Kamakshi Dev), installed on the third floor of the fort, are worth seeing.
This idol is believed to have been brought from Guwahati. There is a Badrinath Temple in the Kamru fort, which dates back to the 15th century. This temple serves as the venue of a fair, held once in three years, in the honor of the deity. There is a procession in the fair where the idol of the deity is taken to Gangotri, the origin of River Ganges. There are a number of interesting legends attached to the fort.