Two persons were today arrested for allegedly trying to sell an antique brass idol of Lord Buddha by claiming it was made up of "Panchaloha", police said.
"The accused, identified as L Govind and A Abdul Azeez, both natives of Andhra Pradesh, attempted to sell the idol, dating back to over 300 years, to one person at Ameerpet and after he raised doubt, they escaped," said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Panjagutta Division) M Venkateshwarlu.
The duo had claimed that the idol is made up of "Panchaloha" (alloy consists of gold, silver, lead, copper and iron) but the prospective customer expressed doubt over their claim and later approached police who later traced the duo in the city and arrested them.
The inquiry has found that the idol is ancestral property of Govind who roped in Azeez for selling it off for Rs 2 lakh, the ACP said.
"The seized antique Budha idol is said to be 300 years old with 'Nagarika Script' (engraved on it). It weighs about 2.5 kgs," the officer stated.
