Chennai, Jan 5: The Indus valley script remains an unsolved riddle for over a century, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Sunday and announced a prize of US dollar 1 million to those who decipher it.

Inaugurating a 3-day international conference to mark the centenary of the discovery of the Indus civilisation, Stalin said,"We are still unable to clearly understand the script of the Indus valley civilsation that once flourished."

Efforts are on to this day by scholars to solve the riddle and in order to encourage such efforts, a prize of US dollar 1 million will be provided to individuals or organisations that solves the riddle, he announced.

The Indus civilsation, one of the earliest, is reputed for its urban culture and its script has not been decrypted yet. The fading away of such a civilisation, and its context, also remains a riddle.

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Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.

According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.

The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.

Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.

The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.

The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.

Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.