More than 400 unused cartridges believed to be belonging to the British era were found during the ongoing renovation of the historic Gobindgarh fort here, police said today.
As many as 402 cartridges were recovered during the digging of old tunnels inside the Gobindngarh fort, ACP Punjab Police Gurpreet Singh said.
The manufacturing year of 1944 was found engraved on all the cartridges, he said, adding that it will be difficult to say about the exact caliber of the cartridges now which have been sent to experts.
The fort is being renovated by the Tourism Department of the Punjab Government for the last nearly eight years.
Talking about the history of the fort, a district administration official said, "The majestic fort occupies a unique place in the Indian and British history since it is interwoven with folklore and historical saga of Amritsar."
"The silent wall of the Fort had witnessed the changing fortunes since its construction in 1760. It was rechristened Gobindgarh Fort by Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1805. The fort underwent first reconstruction from 1805 to 1809."
"In 1849, after the second Sikh war, the British took possession of Amritsar and Gobidngarh Fort. It remained under the control of the Britishers till 1947. The infamous General Dyer of the British Government had his official residence here," the official said.
The fort has been under the control of the Indian Army since Independence in 1947. The Army handed it over to the Tourism Department of the Punjab Government for the renovation.
