'Wagh nakh' of Chhatrapati Shivaji to be brought back from UK for 3 years after signing MoU: Minister

Chandrapur: The legendary ‘wagh nakh’ or the tiger claw dagger of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be brought back to Maharashtra from the UK for three years, state Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Sunday.

”The state government and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will sign a MoU on Tuesday for the return of the weapon of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to India for a period of three years,” Mungantiwar who is leaving for the UK on Sunday late night told PTI.

He said the ”wagh nakh” is likely to be brought back to Maharashtra very soon after signing the agreement.

The ‘wagh nakh’ was used by Shivaji Maharaj to kill Bijapur Sultanate’s general Afzal Khan in 1659.

A row has erupted with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray questioning if the ‘wagh nakh’ being brought from a museum in the United Kingdom would stay here permanently or be on loan and whether it belonged to Shivaji Maharaj or was it from that era.