The police have finally caught up with the two thieves who had decamped with a golden lunch box and other artefacts of the Nizam from the local Nizam Museum.
The arrested duo used the 4-kg gold lunch box studded with diamonds, rubies and emeralds — besides cup, saucer, spoon and tray — for their food, while making attempts to find a buyer for the antiques in Mumbai.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar identified the two as Mubeen Mohammed and Mohammed Ghouse Pasha, both residents of Rajendra Nagar. They planned the sensational theft at the museum in Purani Haveli of the old city after visiting the place as tourists. Despite 32 cameras in and around the museum, they succeeded in their mission.
Pasha, aged around 25, is said to be a hardened criminal wanted in 26 cases. Mubeen, said to be mastermind, did a museum recce six times. He was jailed for two-and-a-half months for assaulting a Pakistani national in Saudi Arabia before being deported four months ago.