Rajkot, July 1
The police have begun probe into the allegations of some of Mahatma Gandhi's personal belongings going missing from a memorial here.

Manager of Kasturba Dham Jaysinh Rathod in an affidavit to joint charity commissioner has said that some of Gandhiji's belongings were missing from the memorial.

He has accused former managing trustee of Kasturba Dham Pravin Ahya of auctioning off spectacles, sandals, a plate and a bowl, belonging to Father of the Nation, in the US in 2002.

Rathod has also accused another trustee Vibhakar Vaccharajani of aiding and abetting Ahya in taking the articles out of the memorial. The police has started probe by taking statements of the people concerned to confirm whether the missing articles were kept at the memorial in past, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nilesh Jinjadiya said.

The ACP said statements of people concerned have been recorded while Ahya is out of country and efforts are on to contact him. “We have also checked records at Kasturba Dham from where the items were stated to be missing and at joint charity commissioner office, but neither side was maintaining records making it difficult for the investigating team to confirm whether the items were in the memorial in the past”, the ACP said.

“It's very difficult for us to find out whether the items claimed to be missing were kept at the memorial”, the officer said, adding “only a couple of persons have claimed to have seen them at the memorial while others attached with the memorial have denied to have seen these items.”

Vaccharajani has denied the allegation saying he had no idea whether the items had been kept at the memorial.

While Rathod who claimed to be the manager of Kasturba Dham did not have any authentic document to prove his designation, Jinjadiya said. — PTI