Case filed against miscreant for trying to 'sell' Statue of Unity for Rs 30,000 cr on OLX

An FIR was registered against an unknown person in Gujarat for placing an online advertisement to "sell" the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya in Narmada district for Rs 30,000 crore to meet the government's expenses for hospitals and medical infrastructure to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

'A cheating and forgery case has been registered'

The memorial to Sardar Patel, at 182 metres, is the world's tallest such structure and has attracted several lakh people since it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018.

"Some unknown person placed an advertisement on OLX on Saturday stating he needs to sell the Statue of Unity for Rs 30,000 crore to meet the requirement of money to buy hospitals and healthcare equipment," a Kevadiya police station official said quoting the FIR.

"The memorial's authorities came to know of the issue after a newspaper ran an article, and approached the police. A cheating and forgery case was registered under IPC, Epidemic Diseases Act and Information Technology Act," Inspector PT Chaudhary said.

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Soon after it was posted, the advertisement was taken off the website. "Despite him not being authorised to sell government property, this unidentified person posted the advertisement on OLX to defame the government and mislead people," stated a release from the chief administrator of the Statue of Unity.

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Such an advertisement hurts the sentiments of the several crore people who idolise Sardar Patel, it added.

The description of the advertisement read: 'Emergency! Selling Statue of Unity because of urgent money required for the hospitals and healthcare equipment.' Over 29 lakh tourists visited the Statue of Unity, located near the Sardar Sarovar Dam, since it was inaugurated and this generated a revenue of Rs 82.51 crore, the government had told the Assembly in December last year. 

On March 17, the Gujarat government banned the entry of tourists at the Statue of Unity in Narmada district, further directed hotels and restaurants to avoid hosting large functions in view of the coronavirus threat. A total of 4,067 cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far. The death toll has jumped to 109 in the country. So far, 291 people have been cured of the disease.

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(With PTI inputs)