1.6 Million Years Old ‘Olduvai Handaxe’ Stolen Replica Recovered, Thanks to CCTV Footage From Delhi’s National Museum

The Olduvai Handaxe has been the greatest invention of early mankind. These handaxes were made about 1.5 million years ago and some of them are still in use in some parts of the world. The replica of the cultural artefact was stolen from the National Museum located in New Delhi on June 24. But the thief has been arrested and the stolen replica has been recovered. The police have managed to catch the accused with the help of the CCTV footage from the museum. IPS Madhur Verma has shared the CCTV footage on social media, mentioning that the accused has been found out.

Take a look at the CCTV footage showing the theft from National Museum:

The accused has been identified as Uday Ratra and arrested on Friday. The complaint regarding the theft was lodged on July 13 and police officials have successfully traced the thief. Uday Ratra the accused is the son of a retired Inspector General, Coast Guard who served between 1985-2005. Uday was a former resident of UK but was deported to India. What's surprising is Uday has a history of stealing expensive things. He had been previously arrested for stealing alcohol from a shopping mall.

The Olduvai Handaxe’s replica in the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology was a gift from the London museum. It was brought in India in the year 2014. The handaxe is one of the only artefacts which is known to be made for a long time with such a wide geographical range.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2018 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).