20 Tagore paintings forged ASI tells HC
Twenty out of 23 paintings, which were on display at Government Art College in Kolkata to remember Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary by the beginning of the year, were forged as the creation of the Nobel laureate poet, Archaeologival Survey of India (ASI) has told Calcutta High Court.
The ASI placed the report before the court on November 25 on an order asking to examine the veracity of the paintings by competent experts.
The two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Joynarayan Patel, issued the order on public interest litigation filed by Tapas Sarkar, a sculpturist, who doubted the originality of the paintings.
The court has also appointed a special officer to oversee the matter.
One of the paintings belongs to renowed painter Jogen Chowdhury and the rest to Joyanta Banerjee, a resident of Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
The exhibition was held between February 27 and March 8 at the Government Art College in the campus of Indian Museum in the heart of the city.
The matter will come up for next hearing on March 19, 2012.
Source:UNI
