A 400-year-old bartop has been stolen from the historic Narwar fort in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district. A police officer said that the incident took place on Friday. The incident is believed to have taken place between Wednesday and Thursday night. Preliminary investigation revealed that some people took a vehicle behind the fort and stole the cannon. Karera Deputy Superintendent of Police Prashant Sharma said that the police went to the spot and started investigation.
Police are probing whether inter-state or international smuggling rings are involved in the incident. According to preliminary information, the cannon fell from its place a few days ago but no measures were taken to secure it. Tarun Kumar Srivastava, deputy director of the state archaeological department, said the matter is very serious. He said he would soon visit Narwar Fort to review the security arrangements at the historic site.
The fort was rebuilt by the Kachhawa Rajputs in the 10th century and has a total of 14 historical bartops, officials said. But after the theft, there are now only 13 bartops left. Police are currently searching for CCTV footage of the surrounding area, routes the thieves may have used and other technical evidence.