KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 8
It is quite uncanny to find a handful of centuries old statues, artefacts, and stone scriptures dumped together with other waste materials inside police stations in Kathmandu.
But, if any one reaches the older police circles inside Kathmandu valley, one can easily find such statues and artefacts that were recovered from different places dumped in some corner along with vehicle parts and behind toilets and bathrooms of these police stations.
Thanks to the inaction of police, authorities, stakeholders and locals, these valuables are still lying in the dark corners of the police station.
A brief investigation by THT revealed that at least five police circles in Kathmandu have around two dozen such archaeologically important artefacts.
One can find as many as 15 statues, artefacts and broken parts of temple pinnacles inside Jana Sewa Police Circle.
Similarly, a very rare statue of Lord Bramha can be found inside Gausala Police Circle.
Hindu religion does not allow crafting statues of Bramha (creator of universe) as it is believed that nature itself is Bramha. But, Nepali tantriks had built the statue for tantrik worship at Pashupatinath temple, which was later established at Mitra Park. But, this statue is now inside the police circle dumped along with other waste products. No one knows for sure how or when the statue reached there.
Similarly, a part of Buddhist Chaitya was found inside Anamnagar Police Circle along with other statues. And some statues of Vishnu, Bhagwati, and other deities can be found inside the old office of Hanuman Dhoka Police Circle in Hanuman Dhoka.
Even police do not have clear idea how or when such artifacts ended up there. They do not have a clear records for most of such artefacts.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Dil Bahadur Malla of Jana Sewa Police Circle at New Road said that many stolen artifacts ended up in the police station due to lack of coordination among authorities, concerned stakeholders and locals for taking these statues to their rightful places. "Sometimes when police retrieve stolen statues or artefacts they are required to present them at the court. But it may take some time and since there is no particular authority to take it back to their original place they end up in police stations."
Malla also said that most of the artefacts in his police station were gathered there after the 2015 earthquakes. "Immediately after the 2015 earthquakes, many good samaritans brought the valued artefacts to the police station for their protection. However, during the reconstruction phase, the authorities did not bother about reinstalling these statues as there was no record of the statues brought to the police station for protection.
Now that the temples have been reconstructed nobody knows which statue belongs to which temple," he added.
Malla said that if people came to them with proof or experts to identify the statues, they could help reinstall such statues in their original places.
Yadab Lal Kayastha, a heritage activist who is working to reinstall the lost statues in the valley, told THT that it was disheartening to see such artefacts gathering dust in police stations for years.
Kayastha often face intimidation and threats from police for searching and questioning authorities about such statues inside the police station. "But, we have vowed to reinstall these statues to their rightful places and will do that despite all odds," he added.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
