Idols worth Rs 130 mn recovered in Delhi

New Delhi: Three 700-year-old Jain idols costing Rs 130 million in the international market were recovered in Delhi on Sunday from a man who allegedly planned to smuggle them out.

Police arrested Narendra, who was described as a middleman, from the northwest district of Pitampura for being in possession of the seized property.

"We had received information that a deal of old statues was being made and a raid was conducted," said Manish Agarwal, a deputy commissioner of police.

He said the police had recovered six idols of gods and goddesses from the area in the last one month.

"There has been an increase in the number of statues being smuggled out of this area," he said, adding that most idols came from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.