Five ancient stone idols, valued at approximately Tk 107 crore, have been formally handed over to the Department of Archaeology for preservation in Naogaon’s Dhamoirhat upazila. The handover took place on Monday, June 29, following a court directive, transferring the artifacts to the custody of the Paharpur Buddhist Monastery authorities.

The idols, recovered from different times in Dhamoirhat, will now be preserved in the museum of the Paharpur Buddhist Monastery, a site under the Department of Archaeology. The official handover was attended by Dhamoirhat Police Officer-in-Charge Md. Mintu Rahman, Paharpur Buddhist Monastery custodian Md. Fazlul Karim, and Dhamoirhat Police Inspector (SI) Md. Abul Kalam Azad, among others.

The transfer marks an official step to ensure proper conservation of the valuable archaeological artifacts under state supervision.