Gandhi's Spectacles Missing from Museum

A pair of round-framed spectacles belonging to India's independence icon Mahatma Gandhi have gone missing from a museum in western India, officials said.

Staff at the Sevagram Ashram, a religious retreat some 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the city of Nagpur, noticed that the glasses had disappeared as they made preparations to mark the anniversary of its founding.

Gandhi first arrived at the ashram near the town of Wardha, in northeast Maharashtra state, in the mid-1930s. The Quit India resolution calling for independence from the British was passed there in July 1942.

The spectacles were among a number of personal items, including a pen stand and a bathroom brush, on display in a locked show cabinet.

Ashram manager Aakash Lokhande told the Press Trust of India news agency on Monday it was unclear when the spectacles went missing.

Police are aware of the matter but no formal complaint has been lodged, he added.

The retreat's president, M.M. Gadkari, was quoted as saying: "The issue would be discussed in the next meeting of board of trustees and a decision as to whether (a) formal police complaint should be lodged would be taken."

About 300,000 people visit the ashram every year, PTI said.