13 stolen Shivaji letters recovered

Thirteen letters of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, missing since 1988 from the Maharashtra government's archives department, have been recovered after an inquiry blamed four staff members of the department.

The inquiry also helped recover 13 letters of the Peshwas and an unpublished letter of major general Arthur Wellesley (who fought the Marathas in 1903) from the staffers.

Archives director P S Bhogal said the letters, bearing the signature and seal of the Maratha warrior king, were stolen by the foursome (two assistant directors included) who entered the building on a holiday. They produced a forged letter to trick the watchman.

The letters, in Modi script, had been collected from Pune, Dhule and Kolhapur to bring out a special volume on the occasion of Maharashtra's silver jubilee in 1988. However, no one in the department realised about the theft till 1995, when a historian wanted to see them.

The government had ordered an inquiry which Bhogal himself handled. Shivaji's letters were returned anonymously by post on November 4, 1995 after Bhogal submitted his preliminary findings against the four staffers.

UNI