UP farmer finds 16 gold coins in field, police say only 10 received
KANPUR : A farmer in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh claimed to have found 16 gold and two silver coins dating back to the Mughal period while digging a part of his field in the Sahayal area of the district on Friday evening.
The discovery, however, stands mired in controversy. While the farmer, Ram Babu, said he handed over 18 coins, including 16 gold coins, to the Auraiya police, circle officer Surendra Yadav said the police received 12 coins — 10 gold and two silver. There is a question mark over where the remaining six coins went.
Inspector general of police (Kanpur range) Mohit Agarwal said an inquiry would be conducted into the missing coins, if there are any.
“Instructions have been issued to reach the bottom of this issue,” he said.
The police have secured the field, deploying armed guards and intimated the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about the find, said circle officer Yadav. The area magistrate has also been informed about the coins and some people were being questioned after it emerged that more people found such coins in the Bahadurpur Chowk village of the same district, he added.
Ram Babu said he was getting a part of his field dug up when he noticed the coins, which looked to be of gold and silver. He informed the village chowkidar about them and, in turn, he passed the information on to the Sahayal police. The police arrived on the scene and took custody of the coins from him.
“I gave the policemen a total 18 coins, 16 of gold and two of silver,” he said.
Sahayal station officer Rajkumar said it had come to light that more people in the past discovered such coins.
“One Lalta Prasad also has given one gold coin that he found nearly a month ago outside the village by chance. Several names have come up and they are being questioned,” he said.
Shabbir Ahmed, assistant professor in the Arabic culture department of Aligarh Muslim University, said the inscription on the coins was in Persian and “29 juloos-Etawah” was mentioned. He said such coins were minted during the Mughal period and the inscription suggested that the coins were introduced in the 29th year of someone’s rule.