New Delhi, July 16: Almost three weeks after the mysterious disappearance of a pistol handed over by Pakistani troops during the 1971 surrender from the high-security national museum here, Delhi Police seems to have got a crucial clue from the close-circuit TV recording. The TV footage, watched by officials of police and navy, allegedly showed a woman opening the screws of the small glass case in which the revolver had been kept, police sources said. The woman's face, however, was not visible in the footage, they said. The sources said three police teams have been fanned out to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the case.

The pistol, kept for display in the navy gallery of the museum here, was found missing on June 28 creating a sensation.

Initially believed to be the one handed over by the then eastern sector commander of Pakistan army Lt Gen A A K Niazi, the weapon later turned out to be that handed over by a commander of Pakistani navy during the surrender.


The theft of the weapon, which symbolised defeat of Pakistani troops during the Bangladesh war, represented a major security breach in the museum.
Bureau Report