Cops link MP’s Narwar Fort cannon theft to Rajasthan canal water feud | Jaipur News
JAIPUR/BHOPAL: Was a 16th-century cannon stolen from MP’s Narwar Fort to be turned on rivals in a canal-water feud involving two communities across the border in Rajasthan? Police are probing this bizarre possibility after arresting two men and seizing the pickup allegedly used to haul the 3.5-tonne piece of Mughal-era artillery from Shivpuri district, although the cannon itself remains missing.On Saturday, a joint team of MP and Rajasthan police arrested Aman Kumar Meena and Timmu Ram Meena, both of Karauli district, in the first breakthrough in the case.Investigators say the focus of the probe has since shifted to the alleged motive behind the theft, with the hypothesis pointing to Rajasthan’s long-running Panchana dam dispute over canal water.Sources said police suspect the suspects meant to use the cannon to intimidate a rival group involved in the agitation over water-sharing for irrigation.
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It is unclear whether the nearly 450-year-old cannon can still fire.The timing of the theft has sharpened those suspicions, though.Police said the first attempt to steal the cannon was made early on July 4, just ahead of a July 6 meeting between representatives of the Meena and Gujjar communities to settle the dispute.While that attempt failed, the thieves returned past midnight on July 15 and removed the cannon, days before another round of scheduled negotiations to resolve the water dispute.
