Following a prediction made by a holy man with a huge following in Northern India about a massive gold treasure buried in a nondescript village in Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to start digging operations there from Friday.
In the wake of the prophecy by Shobhan Sarkar, who has his hermitage at Buxar on the banks of the Ganga, the district authorities approached the ASI officials, who also confirmed “some metallic things were buried under the surface” .
The area in Daudiakhera village, which is believed to house the treasure, has since been mapped out and security beefed up.
According to superintendent of ASI ‘s Lucknow Division P K Mishra , instead of pressing into service heavy-duty earth moving equipment, they would initially use traditional and small tools like spades and shovels for the excavation work. He confirmed that the experts had visited the village while reconfirming the existence of “some metal”. However, nothing can be said for sure at this stage.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who were briefed on the issue, have got in touch with the Centre, which is also monitoring the developments.
Meanwhile, a string of high-profile visitors, including Union Minister of State for Food Processing Charandas Mahant; UP Public Works Minister Shivpal Yadav and Congress leaders Janardhan Diwedi and Annu Tandon, who is also the MP from Unnao have called on Sarkar following the ASI decision to undertake digging work.
Interestingly, the holy man had also prophesied that there were similar treasures lying buried in Kanpur and Fatehpur districts. Even more incredulous was his prediction that the other treasures were much more vast in size than those at Daudiakhera.
According to historians, there indeed was a fort at Daudiakhera in 1857, which belonged to erstwhile ruler Raja Ram Bux Singh .
When the Raja fought against the Britishers for Independence he was hanged and his fort was demolished by the imperialists who had no knowledge of the existence of the vast treasure inside the fort.
The King’s execution and the vast riches of his estate had also been confirmed by writers, politicians and social workers .
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