[MSN] A bronze bust of Mahatma Gandhi, which was stolen from the Milan airport but recovered swiftly by police, was unveiled at Piazza Cavour in the heart of the north Italian industrial city of Turin on Friday.

[MSN]

Gandhi's stolen bust recovered, unveiled in Italy

London, April 18: A bronze bust of Mahatma Gandhi, which was stolen from the
Milan airport but recovered swiftly by police, was unveiled at Piazza Cavour
in the heart of the north Italian industrial city of Turin on Friday.

India's ambassador to Italy Rajiv Dogra and President of Turin city council
Giuseppe Castronov, jointly inaugurated the heavily-guarded statue after a
gang of thieves first stole it from the Milan airport and then made an
abortive attempt to smuggle it across the border before police nabbed them.

According to sources, the thieves stole the statue from Milan airport almost
immediately after it reached from Kolkata, loaded it in their truck and sped
out of Milan.

They reached the border town of Pordenone in North-East Italy, close to
Slovenia, without detection. A 30-minute delay by the police would have
resulted in the bronze bust being spirited away across the border, the
sources said.

Thanks to the timely intimation of the theft by airport authorities to the
Indian Mission in Italy, which raised an alarm, the Italian police acted
swiftly and nabbed the thieves just in time, they said.