Hasan Ali Stole Salarjung Antiques?

The Central Crime Station (CCS) has registered a case against alleged money-launderer Hasan Ali Khan, stating that he stole antiques from the Salarjung Museum.

According to reports, numerous antiques from the Nizam's collection in the Salar Jung Museum were smuggled out of the country during the 1900s. It has been speculated that the market value of the antiques runs into thousands of crores.

The Hyderabad police who learnt about this racket registered a case under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972 (which deals with the prevention of smuggling of artifacts), and created a special team to nab the miscreants involved in the case.

Hasan Ali, the prime accused, is already in a judicial broil, having come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly stashing away billions of dollars in overseas bank accounts, and for evading the payment of taxes.

It may be noted that Hasan Ali had lived as a poor man in Khairatabad till mid-nineties, and rose to be a Swiss bank account holder within a decade. However, the accounts of the particulars of his life before being established as a businessman in Pune are numerous and varied.

The Hyderabad police believe that Hasan Ali could not have stolen the antiques without inside help, and some individuals connected to the management of the Salarjung Museum have been reportedly listed as suspects in the First Information Report (FIR) filed on the theft case.