BENGALURU: A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly trying to sell antiques worth around Rs 1 crore, including utensils and a shoe remover made of elephant tusk. The accused, Aryan Khan, is from Sakleshpur and lives in Kattigenahalli, near Yelahanka.
KG Halli police said they detained Khan when he was trying to sell antiques behind the BDA Complex at KG Halli. Among the seized items were an elephant paw, a book, milk jug, teapot, Bhutanese showpiece, Irish tea maker, sugar pot, small milk jug, German silver scoop, two German silver ashtrays, five mustard trays, two small machetes, two African wooden spoons, and spoons made of animal bone.
Khan told police he used to work for an Anglo-Indian family earlier settled in Sakleshpur. When the head of the family died, his wife moved to Bengaluru as her daughter was settled in England. Khan and his family also shifted to the city.
According to Khan, the elderly woman went to England last year and gave the antique items to him before she left. Renowned taxidermist Edwin Joubert Van Ingen had given them to her as a gift in 1934, she had said.
Khan’s claimed the elderly woman died in England during the second wave of Covid-19. “I realised I could make a lot of money by selling the items. I needed the money for the medical expenses of my nephew and for paying house rent and clearing loans,” Khan told police.
