18 November 2004	Thursday	05 Shawwal 1425

KARACHI, Nov 17: The National Museum is holding a special exhibition of the fake mummy discovered in a house near the Afghan and Iranian border in 2000, says a press release. It adds that the exhibition, titled "The legacy of the Persian mummy", will remain open for a month.

"On Oct 19, 2000 the Sindh police raided a house and found the mummy of a woman. An inscription on her coffin said she was Princess Rhodugune, daughter of Xerxes, King of Persia. Wrapped in linen strips, in the style of the mummies of ancient Egypt, she wore a gold crown and mask," the press release recalls.

It adds that inside the mummy's wrappings was a modern body of a woman of about 65 years who had been killed and mummified recently. "The police have not yet solved this terrible crime and failed to determine who was responsible for this inhuman act.

They have failed to determine who these criminals/mummy merchants were who were selling human corpses, wrapped in bandages, organs taken out from the dead bodies," it says.

It may be recalled that anti-Violent Crime Cell chief SP Farooq Awan had foiled the attempt of smuggling the "mummy" out of the country. He was promoted from DSP to SP as a reward. However, the case is still pending and the mummy turned out to be fake.