Hidden Treasure at Emar Math, near Puri Temple

http://www.orissadiary.com/shashwat/images/allnewsimage/24897.jpg
Like the stuff of so many hidden treasure stories, the Orissa police cracked a case and found more than 522 bricks of pure silver, each weighing between 35 to 40 kilos, in a hidden room inside the Emar Math.

The Emar Math is housed in a 200-year old dilapidated structure just a stone's throw from the world famous Puri Jagannath temple.

The total value of the of the silver is assessed at over Rupees 90 crore and weighing almost 20 tonnes. Apparently, each brick is embossed with seals of countries like UAE, Japan, China and Dubai.

Surprisingly the Indian press didn't give it large coverage, relegating it to small news items in inner pages of the newspaper. I would have thought a find like this should have been reported more prominently...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Any idea what became of This?
Anand said…
Hi Brian, I have tried to follow the story - but have subsequently been unable to find any further updates - other than the fact that they arrested another priest who was trying to sell some of that silver.

Strange it is..
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the reply. I too tried digging for news but there is almost zero info online.

Things like this are national heritage items. One would think the ASI would get involved if at all they were made aware.

Let me check with my Oriya friends who live about an hour away in Bhubaneswar.
Anonymous said…
It looks like that math has been in a lot of controversy over the years.

However the silver items in question have been handed back to the temple authorities after being kept in the police armoury for some time.

This is as per a court order.

The court order PDF (5 pages only) can be viewed here:http://goo.gl/XYmmgP

In 2012, as the building was getting old a portion was demolished with the intention of building a stronger one.

http://goo.gl/ARbxlW

So, I think it is okay. The items are safe for now.

I hope some historian will be allowed to examine them to find out more about their history.