Police and the administration are conducting an excavation at a house in Dhaka’s Mirpur in search of a possible ‘hidden treasure’.

Workers started digging at the house on Road-16 (Block-C) of Mirpur Section-10 around 10:30am on Saturday, said Mirpur police.

“On Jul 10, a man named Abu Taiyab filed a report with police over treasure buried under the house. We informed the matter to the district administration. The digging is supervised by an executive magistrate,” Mirpur Police OC Dadan Fakir told Bangla Tribune.

Magistrate Anwar-uz-Zaman told the media that they were digging two rooms of the house. “We will make a call after digging for at least 8 feet.”

The property’s owner Manirul Alam told Bangla Tribune that he bought the house in 2010 from one Selim Reza through the Housing Department.

“I employed two caretakers— Shafiqul Islam and Sujan, who lived on the property. There were tenants, who have been recently told to vacate as there are plans to demolish the house for constructing a new building,” he said.

On the night of Jul 12, some men tried to enter the property, Alam said before adding: “They claimed of treasure buried under the house. The men included one Abu Taiyab.”

Police said Taiyab, a resident of Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf, filed a report with Mirpur police on Jul 10, where he stated his relatives used to live in the house during the 1971 war and that they had buried at least 40 kg gold before leaving for Pakistan.