France regrets Bangladesh's withdrawal of artefacts

DHAKA (Reuters) - The government of France expressed regret on Thursday over the cancellation of an exhibition of Bangladesh's ancient artefacts in a Paris museum, following the theft of two rare statues.

Bangladesh halted the shipment of a second consignment of artefacts after the theft at Dhaka airport on Saturday and asked the Guimet Museum in Paris to return the first consignment already with them.

"We fully respect this decision while regretting the cancellation of an event likely to enhance the cultural presence of Bangladesh throughout the world," a French Embassy statement said.

The cultural affairs adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Ayub Quadri, resigned on Wednesday during an investigation into the theft of two statues of the Hindu God Vishnu while they were being loaded on a Paris-bound flight.

Police have arrested 15 suspects over the weekend, who are now on police remand.

Hassan Mahmud Khandker, chief of the Rapid Action Battalion special force, told Reuters on Thursday they had "important information" that could lead to the statues' recovery.

The security forces on Wednesday arrested eight more people in connection with the theft of terracotta artefacts which dated back to some 1,500 years ago.

During interrogation, the arrested people reportedly confessed that they stole the artefacts from airport, broke both the statues into pieces and threw them into a dustbin.

The elite force are currently carrying out raids in Dhaka's Mirpur, Uttara, Jatrabari and Savar areas to recover the broken pieces of the statues.

(Additional reporting by Masud Karim)