Hyderabad: Stolen ‘Alam’ remains undetected since two decades

On April 11, 2003, unidentified persons had stolen the standard from the Aza Khana Zehra, a historic landmark Aashoorkhana built in memory of the Nizam’s mother Amtul Zehra Begum

Hyderabad: The case of the stolen ‘Alam’ from the Aza Khana Zehra in Darulshifa about two decades ago remains undetected even now.

On April 11, 2003, unidentified persons had stolen the standard from the Aza Khana Zehra, a historic landmark Aashoorkhana built in memory of the Nizam’s mother Amtul Zehra Begum, also known as Madar-e-Deccan (Mother of Deccan).

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The standard was made of an alloy comprising five metals, including gold and silver, measured three feet long and was installed in the name of Imam-e-Hussain by Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1956. There was also a necklace made of precious gems on the standard.

Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery, president of, the Shia Youth Conference, said after tension built up following the theft, the caretakers along with the police installed the second set of Alam that was kept in a safe.

“The Nizam had got two sets of the standard made. After the theft of the first one, in the presence of the then police commissioner MV Bhaskar Rao and additional commissioner of police AK Khan, the second set kept from the safe was installed,” he recalled. Several representations were made to the government requesting them to trace and recover the standard.

A senior official of police who supervised the investigation said that police teams visited 25 States and three foreign countries to trace the ‘Alam’ but in vain.

Two suspects Karar, an electrician, and his associate Jaffar, were picked up but the investigation did not progress much. Initially, the police stumbled upon some clues indicating the involvement of a local electrician behind the theft. Evidence was also collected, but the case remained unsolved.

In 2021, there was a word that the Alam was found at a museum in Australia and the Shia community demanded it be brought back. However, there has been no news about it for the last two years. A section of the community argued that it was not the Alam stolen from the Aza Khana Zehra and another relic dating back to the Qutb Shahi period.

Advocate Syed Ali Jaffery, a community leader said the police had closed the case for lack of evidence. “Still if there are clues or fresh leads the police can reopen the case and follow it up. But so far there are no leads as far as we know,” he said.

When contacted the local police maintained that they have no idea about the case and the status of its investigation.