SC to probe missing Rs 300 crore, gold, and AK-47s taken from temple

searchmechaniks - http://www.giovaniconnection.it/?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=3249993. How did a cache of cash and gold worth hundreds of crores, watched over by an imposing idol of the goddess Kali, purportedly disappear from a secret cellar at an Assam temple hours before the army was to recover it?  The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to unravel this tangled mystery and determine if the money, valuables, and four AK-47 rifles reached the hands of Left-wing extremists from organisations such as the ULFA or NDFB.  A bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur described as "startling" the disappearance of the Rs 300 crore in cash, 300kg of gold, and the guns from the shrine at a tea garden in the state's capital Dispur. The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to look into the alleged disappearance of treasure from a Kali temple in Assam's Dispur, hours before the Army was to recover it. (Picture for representation only). The court issued the instructions while hearing a PIL filed by Manoj Kumar Kaushal, a retired military intelligence officer. The petitioner has alleged that the stash was smuggled out of the temple by about a dozen individuals in connivance with the police.  "The matter must be pursued with the home ministry as he (Kaushal) was part of military intelligence, and please give a report by May 6," the bench told Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, who was representing the Centre.  Advocate Jaspreet Rai, who appeared for the petitioner, said the central government should constitute a special CBI team to investigate the matter.  Kaushal served in Assam from 2006 until 2009 when he retired from the intelligence wing of the Indian armed forces.  The northeastern state has a long history of ethnic conflicts and separatist rebellions, while tea plantation workers and owners often fall prey to guerilla attacks.  Rai said the owner of the estate was one Mridul Bhattacharya, who was president of Assam's tea garden association.  Bhattacharya reportedly collected money from proprietors of tea estates and gave it to the ULFA as protection money. He was also allegedly involved in the smuggling of gold from Myanmar. Bhattacharya and his wife were murdered about four years ago.  "I am worried that the treasure could have been used for illegal purposes and may pose a threat to the sovereignty of our country, Assam being a border state which has seen much turbulence in past decades," Kaushal contended.  He said an informer told him two years ago about the treasure hidden in a vault below the idol. An inquiry revealed that it was lying unclaimed after the mysterious deaths of Bhattacharya and his wife.  After being informed about the cache, the army decided to recover it on June 1, 2014. But when soldiers reached the spot, they were shocked to find a gaping hole and the treasure missing.  Kaushal visited the spot later, snapped photographs and gathered intelligence on possible suspects.  The petition named 13 people whose call records showed they were in touch with each other since the time the theft likely took place, and were diverting huge amounts of money through their bank accounts.  "It is clear that these people hatched the conspiracy and took the treasure out by digging a hole from outside the temple, which is clearly depicted in the photographs," Kaushal alleged.  The petitioner said that despite informing the state's inspector-general of police (law and order), he got no cooperation, and that gave rise to suspicions that top officials from the department were involved in the smuggling. He also offered his assistance to any team constituted to hunt for the missing treasure. Advertisement Read more: India News - Latest Headlines, Pictures and Videos | Daily Mail Online