Seized in 1940, rare golden deer finds a place in Kolkata Museum

Kolkata Police gear up to display the gold-plated deer statue captured by the anti-burglary wing of erstwhile Calcutta Police; public can have a glimpse of the rare antique piece at the Kolkata Police Museum soon

Kolkata:A gold-plated deer statue seized by the anti-burglary wing of erstwhile Calcutta Police in 1940 will now be showcased at the Kolkata Police Museum.

Speaking on the discovery of the antique piece, Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police Murlidhar Sharma said that the rare golden deer was found recently at the Laalbazar central stores during a digitalisation work.

"While that work was done, we discovered this rare antique gold-plated deer statue. Later it was polished. From the documents, we came to know that the anti-burglary section of the-then Calcutta Police seized this item while investigating a burglary case way back in the year 1940," Sharma added.

The public can soon have a glimpse of the statue of antique value, which is preserved in the central maalkhana (store) at the Kolkata Police headquarters at Laalbazar in Central Kolkata. The process to shift the golden deer to Kolkata Police Museum has already started.

The City Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra himself paid a visit to the museum to select a secured place within the museum for its display. Interestingly, Mitra's directions on bringing different stores under the roof of city police led to the discovery of this gold-plated deer along with other antique items.

After taking over as the city police commissioner, Mitra took several initiatives to make this museum popular. He understood that the ticket sales from museum would not suffice to maintain it, so a cafeteria was established on the first floor of the museum.

The Kolkata Police Museum is located at 113 Ripon Street in central Kolkata. Scattered over an area of 2,00 square feet area, this museum bears the rich heritage and history of the city police.

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