BHUBANESWAR : Rare palm leaf and hand written manuscripts that were being smuggled to Spain through speed posts and seized by the Customs wing, were handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) here on Thursday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman virtually presided over the handing over process of seized antiquities from Customs to the ASI.
On the day, 101 antiquity items were handed over to the ASI at seven locations across the country which included Bengaluru, Bhopal, Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai and Pune apart from Bhubaneswar. In the city, the Customs wing handed over palm leaf manuscripts having 155 leaves and handmade manuscripts consisting of 17 pages, to the ASI.
The palm leaf manuscripts, believed to be 300 years old, are written in Odia language and composed in the Champu genre. The manuscripts were written in Devanagari script and consisted of Buddhist texts. They are believed to be over 80 years old.
Customs officials informed that one Kiran Pai of Puri had booked a speed post on October 10, 2019 and it was received at Customs foreign post office in Bhubaneswar for examination and clearance. The courier was supposed to be delivered in Spain.
During verification, Customs officers suspected that the palm leaf manuscripts were of antique value and retained the parcel. They sent it to the ASI office in Kolkata for examination. Similarly, officials of the foreign post office had retained another courier consisting of handmade manuscripts which were booked by one Tamdin Gyalpo of Gajapati district on October 24, 2020. The parcel was supposed to be delivered in France.
The manuscripts were handed over by principal chief commissioner Sanjay Pant, holding additional charge of Customs Bhubaneswar zone, to superintending archaeologist (Bhubaneswar Circle) Sushant Kumar Kar.