Archaeological Survey of India's hunt for prophesied gold to end soon

JAUNPUR: After putting almost a month to dig out gold inside Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh fort here, Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI) today said the excavation would be stopped soon.

ASI Director Syed Jamal Hasan, who was in his home district here, said that excavation at the site in Unnao would be stopped soon.

He said that the ASI never carried out excavation work to recover the treasure.

Hasan said that the ASI indulges in excavation work so that centuries old hidden mysteries could be revealed.

The director said that anything which could be a subject of curiosity has been recovered from the spot.

The excavation was started at the site on October 18 after a seer Shobhan Sarkar claimed that 1,000 tonne gold was buried at the site following a dream.

Sarkar had recently shot off letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav demanding amendment in the Indian Treasure trove act and transparency in the ongoing works.

Demanding amendment in the Act he said that after this the gold which would be recovered from the site would be handed over to the Reserve Bank of India.

Sarkar had also pointed out in the letter that if the government feels that his demands would not go down well with the people, the government has the right to stop the excavation work as he would have then have no responsibility of its results.