Shillong, Oct 24 (IANS): An ancient Durga idol, found in a Pakistani armoury by Indian troopers after the end of the 1971 war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, was one of the attractions of this year's Durga Puja celebrations in a BSF camp in Meghalaya.

The rare 'ashtadhatu' (eight metal) idol was found Dec 15, 1971, by Sher Bahadur Thakuri, then a trooper in C Company of the Border Security Force 83rd Battalion. It has been with the unit since then. It is believed that such idols comprising gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin, iron and mercury were especially made during the 6th century. But the exact date of this idol is not known.

Explaining how he came across the precious idol, Thakuri said Indian forces were headed back to India after the Pakistani Army had surrendered in newly independent Bangladesh. When the unit reached Mymensingh from Dhaka and entered an abandoned cantonment area, Thakuri noticed an armoury.

"We were collecting weapons and ammunition left by the Pakistanis. I saw a machine gun fitted in a three-storied building, so I climbed up, but did not know that the gun was corked," said Thakuri.

The 1971 war hero accidentally touched the trigger, and bullets burst out hitting a portion of the building.

"I saw something glittering, where the bullets hit, and went to check, but could not find anything," added the man who retired from the BSF as a head constable.

Thakuri said he later had a "divine call" and went back to the armoury the next day.

"I returned to the same building and after a careful search noticed a glittering object. I pulled it out and saw Durga Ma's idol, complete with the lion and mahishasura (demon)," he said.

The idol weighs about 45 kg. Thakuri brought the idol back to India and to his unit headquarters here in Shillong.

"I was offered Rs.25 lakh at that time to sell the idol to a businessman in Tura. I refused," he said. Ever since, the idol has adorned the Durga temple at the 83rd battalion of the BSF.

It has travelled to places like Tangdhar in Jammu and Kashmir with the battalion but is brought back during Durga Puja celebrations here at the temple at the camp at Mawpat in the suburbs of Shillong.

"Even when a massive earthquake hit the Tangdhar region on Oct 8, 2005, causing widespread damage and taking lives, the idol was unharmed," A.K. Singh, the present commandant of the 83th Battalion, told IANS.