Antique conch seized;4 held for trying to sell it for Rs 10-cr

A three-century-old antique conch was seized here today and four persons who were trying to sell it for Rs 10 crore, claiming that it (Dakshina Murthy Shankham) possessed divine powers, were arrested, police said.
Besides the antique conch, one Skoda car and five cell phones were also recovered from the accused, city Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters here.
The four were trying to con people by claiming that the conch had divine powers and they wanted to dispose it for Rs 10 crore, the Commissioner said.
Acting on credible information, a decoy party of North Zone task force team approached the gang and negotiated for Rs eight crore. When the gang members came in a Skoda car along with the conch, police nabbed them near Aruna Towers, in Somajiguda under Panjagutta police station limits.

Probe revealed that one of the arrested, Praveen Reddy got the conch from one Sandeep Reddy, resident of Srinagar Colony for sale, police said adding that efforts are being made to apprehend Sandeep.
The Commissioner further said that the enquiry revealed that the 'Shankham' (conch) weighed about 8.18 kgs and had antique value as it was covered with silver metal and decorated with costly coloured stones.