Ram Bahadur Kunwar, Chief Archaeological Officer and Spokesperson of the Department of Archaeology, said that the Department of Archaeology has been studying the issue of the statue kept in the club building for three months.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
29 glass boxes lined up on the wall. 26 of them contain idols of God. This is not a description of a temple, museum or archaeological department. This is the Mahendra Police Club on Exhibition Road.
The Police Club, considered a welfare unit within the police organization, is a structure related to the morale, unity, sports and entertainment of police personnel and their families. However, conservationists have been raising questions about where and when the statues kept here were brought and what their purpose is. While according to the Ancient Monuments Conservation Act, there is a provision that objects of archaeological importance should be protected and monitored by the Department of Archaeology, regardless of where they are obtained.
On July 29, the Department of Archaeology had written to the Nepal Police Headquarters expressing interest in these statues. The department, which wrote after the activist's complaint, said in the letter, 'We will provide necessary assistance to the archaeological officer who will be sent by the department for on-site inspection.'
The department's chief archaeological officer and spokesperson, Ram Bahadur Kunwar, said that the Department of Archaeology has been studying the statues kept in the club building for three months. He said, 'The main subject of our study is whether the statues are of archaeological importance or not. If the archaeological importance is confirmed, the process will be taken forward as per the law.'
Neither the Mahendra Police Club nor the Police Headquarters give a clear answer about the statues kept here. Where did these statues come from and why were they kept there? We asked SSP Sanjay Singh Thapa, who is also responsible for looking after the club, about this. He said that he would not answer on this issue, and said, 'Ask the Police Headquarters about this.'
We also asked the police spokesperson the same question. Spokesperson DIG Abhi Narayan Kafle claimed that the statues in the old Police Club building were systematically preserved. He said that the police purchased the statues around 2042 BS for beauty while conducting cultural programs at the club, and said, 'Since it is a very old matter, its records are being searched. The purchase price and detailed details are not immediately available. We are also searching.'
Campaigner Yadhav Lal Kayastha, who has been raising questions publicly about the statues kept here, said that it is the state's responsibility to keep such statues in the original temple or related heritage sites. He said, 'How did the police bring so many statues? If it has been confiscated, it is the state's responsibility to return it to the original temple or heritage site. Keeping it like a prisoner inside a police building and storing it is an insult to culture and civilization.'
