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MASALPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA, August 12, 2001: Near the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border in Masalpur is the fort of Timangarh, which has often been the site of much antique smuggling. “We have seen the helicopters landing near the Timangarh fort so many times. We can identify the noise of a helicopter even in our sleep,” says villager Anant Ram Gujjar. Helicopters make the getaway by the smugglers simple and easy. The fort is said to have been built by local kings in 1100 ce. Inside this fort are thousands of idols carefully preserved in underground stone quarters. Gangs from Delhi, Mathura and Agra go to the three villages to hire the locals, the only people who know where the idols are hidden. Even after being tipped off about an operation, the police find it very difficult to catch the culprits, mainly because of the location and architecture of the fort. The idols are carved in the exquisite Gandhara style with the typical hairdo seen in the Ajanta and Ellora caves.

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