The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Police yesterday arrested one Shiplu, an accomplice of Indian national Jibon Singh, one of the accused in a case in connection with the theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel prize medal.

Disclosing this, an officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID officer told journalists that police have been interrogating Shiplu with alleged links to the theft. He was arrested in a raid from a house in Lalbagh in the capital on Thursday night.

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The Gold Medal of Nobel Prize of Poet Rabindranath Tagore (Thakur) was stolen from Rabindranath Museum sometimes before March 24, 2004.

The Bengali poet, playwright and author, Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for "Geetanjali," a selection of his poetry in 1913. He was the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize. He died in 1941 at the age of 80.

West Bengal Government at a press briefing on March 24, 2004 told the world that the visitors to the Rabindra museum noticed that the gold medal of Poet Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize and other items were missing from a glass showcase.

The burglary triggered global outcry and later Indian police caught two burglars, who confessed that Indian national Jibon Singh and his accomplices assigned them to steal the medal.

Shiplu, who was arrested from Lalbagh, allegedly provided shelter to Jibon Singh in Dhaka.

Additional Superintendent of police (CID) Mohammad Abdullah Arif yesterday said, "Shiplu is one of the accomplices of Jibon Singh, accused of stealing the medal. Jibon Singh is on the run evading arrest."

He said the Indian authorities had already sought cooperation from Dhaka to arrest Singh, who is believed to be hiding in Bangladesh.

In a November 6 overnight operation, RAB raided a shop in Gulshan in search of Tagore's missing medal and arrested the owner of the shop Abul Hossain and two salespersons on suspicion.

Later the two salespersons were released.