Symbol of Russian-Indian ties stolen from museum in New Delhi

The watch has been considered a symbol of Soviet-Indian friendship since it was given to Lal Bahadur Shastri by Alexei Kosygin during the historic Tashkent conference in 1966.

"We have registered a case, but the sad part is that the incident was reported several days after the theft took place," a local police official told the newspaper, adding that the museum's valuable exhibits were not well protected, and the caretaker was probably on leave the day of the burglary.

"We have taken all fingerprints and are investigating the matter," he said.

In 2004, the Nobel medal awarded to Rabindranath Tagore was stolen from the museum dedicated to the poet and religious leader in India's western town of Santiniketan, together with some 47 other items. The case was not solved and the investigation was closed in August this year; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.