Fake Bawa: Two booked for selling fake paintings of Manjit Bawa, Francis Newton Souza worth Rs 18 crore | India News
A case of forgery was filed against an art dealer and another man for allegedly duping a banker of Rs 17.9 crore by selling him fake paintings, claiming that they were the works of renowned artistes like Manjit Bawa and Francis Newton Souza.
A case was filed against lawyer Vishwang Desai, and art dealer Rajesh Rajpal, but no arrest has been made yet, cops said.Banker Punit Bhatia said that he met Desai at a party, where he told him that he was an art connoisseur and could help him get paintings of prominent artists at reasonable prices. One of the paintings – ‘Krishna with Cows’, was a work by Manjit Bawa, and its current owner, an IAS officer, was ready to sell it for Rs 6.75 crore, Desai allegedly told Bhatia. Later, however, Bhatia’s friends told him that the two paintings were not the works of Bawa and Souza.
A case was filed against lawyer Vishwang Desai, and art dealer Rajesh Rajpal, but no arrest has been made yet, cops said.Banker Punit Bhatia said that he met Desai at a party, where he told him that he was an art connoisseur and could help him get paintings of prominent artists at reasonable prices. One of the paintings – ‘Krishna with Cows’, was a work by Manjit Bawa, and its current owner, an IAS officer, was ready to sell it for Rs 6.75 crore, Desai allegedly told Bhatia. Later, however, Bhatia’s friends told him that the two paintings were not the works of Bawa and Souza.
