The museum told RNZ it had been contacted by members of the public enquiring about the origin of a sword that had been traced back to at least the 18th century, which some had claimed once belonged to Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
Gurus were the spiritual leaders of the Sikh faith, beginning with founder Guru Nanak.
Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru and son of Guru Tegh Bahadur, who was martyred for refusing to convert to Islam, is remembered for creating the family of soldier saints known as the Khalsa Panth and serving as the last human guru.
He also enthroned the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism's primary holy religious scripture and the eternal Guru.
"I saw this post in a local Punjabi newspaper based in New Zealand and it said that there is a sword in Dunedin museum that could be the sword of our 10th guru," Warraich said.
Earlier this year, Warraich asked the museum to confirm the sword's authenticity.
"I wrote to them, and they told me that there is no evidence that points out that it belonged to the 10th guru," he said.
Asked about the origin of the rumour, the museum said it had received a letter in 2013 from Dr Mohinder Singh, director of the National Institute of Punjab Studies, that claimed the sword belonged to Guru Gobind Singh.
The claim was shared on Facebook in 2013 and later referenced by Punjab Monitor, a Punjabi magazine.
The social media post said a meeting had taken place between a group and the museum's management about the sword's significance.
"When the museum contacted Dr Mohinder Singh in 2013 to ask if he would share the details that led to his attribution, he replied that he couldn't recall how he came to that conclusion and no longer stood by it," said Moira White, curator at Tūhura Otago Museum.
"It came here in the 1940s with this description: Hilt, sheath, mounts and chafe of jade, jewelled and mastered in gold, late 18th century," White said.
"We don't have details of its earlier history," she said.
Warraich said he was surprised to learn the sword had no links to Guru Gobind Singh.
"There is still some information online about the sword and its connection to the guru. There were other sources that said the sword belonged to the Sikh empire and our Sikh king," he said.
"Unfortunately, there wasn't any solid evidence that could link it to [the Sikh guru]," he added.
Despite the revelation, Warraich said he valued the museum's historical artefacts.
"I think they get a lot of visitors because of the sword, but it is good to stop this rumour," he said.
