Rewa royal museum heist: Thief who jumped bail nabbed

KANPUR: A wily thief and his 20 aides who enacted the daring heist at the royal museum inside Rewa Fort, Madhya Pradesh, and then jumped bail two years ago was arrested on Sunday after a brief encounter in Kannauj. The accused, Kunwar Pal Banjara, who murdered the museum guard and decamped with antiques and jewellery of Rs 50 crore in October 2012 wriggled out of police dragnets several times after he was released on bail in 2018.
Banjara, resident of Ram Nagar, Kannauj, was nabbed in early Sunday, said Kannauj SP Amrendra Prasad Singh.He was arrested in 2017, but jumped bail after his release from prison. Police received a tip-off about his arrival in Kannauj and increased vigil on his whereabouts before arresting him. Banjara had 27 criminal cases against him and was among the district’s Top 10 criminals.
Antiques at the museum date back to 500 years and Banjara’s gang had scaled the Rewa fort, killed the security guard, Kamla Prasad, before fleeing with valuables. “Banjara’s booty included a pen pistol of 1911 purchased by Raja Gulab Singh, 40kg silver chattri (umbrella), six antique swords, a silver ornamented hukkah, ornamental dresses and fabrics used to deck up elephants on special occasions, two antique pistols, silver and gold wedding dresses, gold and silver lamps,” said police.