Hidden cache of coins creates ripples in Punjab

The digging site in Patrewala; and the silver and gold coins unearthedWhen the Punjab police soon starts digging up a patch of land in Patrewala village, 10 km short of the Indo-Pak border in Punjab, it will not be hidden ammunition they will be looking for.Instead, the police hope to unearth a cache of silver and gold coins and other precious nuggets which they believe are hidden in the tehkhana (underground room) of a century-old haveli that was pulled down last month. Since 1994, the Kahan Chand Chopra family, which owns the haveli, has been secretly digging up the place-and unearthed a mound of coins estimated at over Rs 2.5 crore.The haveli was just another haunted house-the Chopras were staying in Abohar, 15 km away-till the discovery changed everything. After getting wind of the fact that the family has conducted six major diggings and generously shared the loot with the labourers and the local police, the district administration moved in.Cases have been registered under the Indian Treasure Trove Act (1978), and Abohar sp K.S. Dhillon and an sho have been booked for connivance and corruption. Dhillon is absconding. According to the Act, the Government owns anything precious found below thre feet in the ground. The crime investigation wing has already booked more than 100 goldsmiths and jewellers of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, who had bought silver coins for a song. For instance, silver coins were sold off at Rs 4,500 a kg, much below the market rate of Rs 7,000 to Rs 7,500.The Punjab Police could make headway only after a dispute broke out over sharing of 6.30 quintals of silver. About 30 people who got a share of the haveli treasure were booked early this year.The district administration has no information of more hidden coins, but the fact that 2,000 gold guineas (weighing about 25 kg) and 22.16 quintals of silver coins of one rupee denomination have been recovered, are signs of hope. "There is strong suspicion that much more treasure is hidden underneath the haveli," says the DM's order, issued in September. Kahan Chand Chopra shot himself a few months ago when he was summoned for questioning.The story of the Patrewala haveli reads like a film script. It was owned by Majhi Khan, a wealthy landlord of Ferozepur district. During the Partition riots he shifted to the Muslim-dominated Motiwala village, 25 km away, with his fourth wife, Jena. He left behind his huge riches in the hope that he would return to claim them. As destiny would have it, Motiwala went to Pakistan, Patrewala remained in India, and his riches stayed buried. After Partition, Chopra, then a refugee from Pakistan, got the haveli.Old-timers testify to the affluence of Majhi Khan, who had titles of honorary magistrate and safedposh bestowed on him by the British. "He was very rich, but miserly" recalls Jagir Singh Gill, one of the few surviving contemporaries of Khan.Many villagers who became rich overnight are selling whatever they acquired to pay for the recovery. Harbans Singh and his brother Hansa Singh are selling off 12 acres of land to pay off the Rs 27 lakh recovery against their name."The treasure money has ruined me," says Makhan Singh, who became an alcoholic after he got parts of the silver coins. Before Chopra committed suicide, one of his grandsons drowned. Clearly, for the villagers of Patrewala, the treasure hunt has turned into a nightmare.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 15, 1996 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---

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Hidden cache of coins creates ripples in Punjab

A hidden cache of coins creates ripples in a border village.

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