A 150-year-old British-era sundial was stolen from Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district of south Bihar on Tuesday night, police said.

The sundial, which was considered a local heritage for Dehri town, was set up by the British in 1871 on the campus of Dehri Mechanical Workshop, where parts of ships were repaired at the time. An Industrial Training Institute (ITI) now stands on the same campus .

“There is no such watch in the entire south Bihar. It still displayed time with accuracy and locals corrected the time of their wrist watches with it,” said Jag Narayan Pandey, a local journalist now in his 70s.

The place is adjacent to Bihar Military Police (BMP) battalion headquarters and offices and residences of top police officers.

Morning walkers noticed the missing clock on Wednesday and informed police.

“Sniffer dogs have been pressed into service,” said subdivisional police officer Navjot Simi.