Holy man’s dream leads to government hunt for $40b gold treasure

The Indian government has sent a team of diggers to unearth a suspected 1,000-tonne pile of gold from beneath an ancient temple.

But information on the buried treasure doesn’t come form an archaeological survey or any other scientific endeavor. In fact, the individual behind the tip-off is Swami Shoban Sarkar, a holy man who dreamed of finding the gold.

According to a report by CNBC, Sarkar “said he was approached in a dream by a 19th century ruler called Rao Ram Bux Singh who told him about the $40 billion bonanza buried near an ancient temple.”

Hoping the find would help ease India’s financial troubles – which stem largely from massive amounts of gold imports – Sarkar told the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) about his dream.

ASI sent a 12-person team to the site on Friday to uncover 200-square meters of land beside the temple.

A recent report, from the Hindustan Times, said that on Saturday the group was ‘inches’ away from the suspected treasure.

But another report, from DNA India, says officials reported Friday evening that “there was no clue of any treasure and the excavation could go on for a month.”

The excavation is taking place in the village of Daundia Khera, in the northern state Uttar Pradesh.

Since reporting his initial prediction, Sarkar has also told officials of a second suspected gold burial site: The Swami believes there is a 2,500-tonne pile of gold beneath another temple in the same region.

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