From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 10:02 PM IST

A West Bengal court Friday gave permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to re-open the probe into the theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel medallion and other memorabilia.

Giving his verdict on a CBI petition, H. Bhutia, additional chief judicial magistrate at Birbhum district's Bolpur town, said: 'As per the court's decision, the CBI may re-open probe into the theft of Tagore's Nobel medallion and other treasures.'

Stating that it had stumbled upon 'vital clues', the CBI Sep 18 in a petition sought the Bolpur court's clearance to re-open the theft case.

Partha Sarathi Bose, investigating officer, filed the petition.

The CBI had closed the case last September saying its investigation was not going anywhere.

CBI counsel Abdul Nassir said the agency had told the court last September it would reopen the investigation if it got any clues to the theft.

The sensational theft of the medallion and 47 other memorabilia from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in Bolpur came to light March 25, 2004.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)