Uttar Pradesh: Kanpur resident Constable Alam Baig's skull reached India after 166 years

The soldier Alam Baig had participated in the 1857 mutiny. Efforts by a historian of Chandigarh University helped in bringing the skull back to India.

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh): The skull of a Kanpur-based infantry solider Alam Baig, who belonged to the 46th Bengal Regiment, was returned to India after staggering 166 years.

A historian through his continued efforts was successful in bringing back the skull of Alam Baig. Now the skull has been handed over to the Punjab Police, who will give it to Alam Baig's descendants living in Delhi. Professor Dnyaneshwar Choubey of Banaras Hindu University will also study the skull. Choubey has researched on over 200 skulls that were found in Ajnala in March 2014.

Baig was hanged on charges of rebellion and allegedly killing three people.

How was the identification done: Dnyaneshwar Choubey informed that in 1963 a London-based couple saw Alam Baig's skull, which was identified on the basis of a research by one UK-based historian Prof AK Wagner, in a pub. The couple took the skull into their possession along with a historical letter, which was found with it. Alam Baig and his complete information was written in the letter. That couple then contacted Prof Wagner. The United Kingdom-based historian researched the skulls and claimed that it belonged to Alam Baig.

Similarly, Prof JS Sehrawat of the Chandigarh University had written to the Center, the British government and Wagner. Wagner then handed over the skull to Prof Sehrawat and this is how the skull reached India last week. Prof Dnyaneshwar Choubey and another historian Surendra Kochhar has expressed happiness over the development.

"The skull will be first given to his descendants. Then I will study it after which it will be buried," Prof. Dnyaneshwar Choubey told ETV Bharat on Saturday.