35 lakh forged paintings: Art dealer gets pre-arrest bail

Mumbai: A 51-year-old art entrepreneur was recently granted anticipatory bail in connection with a case involving the alleged sale of forged paintings worth around Rs 35 lakh. Chethan, who operates a art business named Tangerine Art from Bangalore, is accused of selling two counterfeit paintings, one attributed to Jogen Chowdhury and another to the late KG Subramanyan. The complaint was lodged by Bijay Anand, a resident of Worli and director of Kyozan Arts Pvt Ltd a company specializing in buying and selling art. The court noted that Chethan is not the creator of the art and sold the paintings directly to subsequent purchasers. "The case is based on documentary evidence. At present, paintings are in possession of the complainant. The applicant is the permanent residence of Saideshpur, Hassan Karnataka. The applicant is ready to co-operate the investigation. Considering the allegations against the applicant..I am of the view that custodial interrogation…is not necessary," the judge said. In her plea, Chethan submitted she herself had never handled any of the art work on her own and had purchased the same and sold it directly to the subsequent purchasers, while the delivery of the same was carried out by the earlier seller. "The applicant had obtained requisite proof of authenticity…from the sellers. Therefore, the applicant had no occasion to find out whether the art works were forged or not," her plea said.