A prestigious Jatin Das painting that was found missing from Air India's collection recently has been returned to its office in a "torn condition", an official at the airline has said.
Over a week back we received this 33x17 inch painting. It was without a frame and had been folded several times and was in a torn condition. It was sent to us from an address in Gurgaon which we later found to be fake.
An internal inquiry team, set up after Das complained to Air India earlier this month that his painting commissioned by the airline was available on open market, found out that a former executive director at the airline had been in possession of the painting and contacted her.
After the artwork – a horizontal oil painting titled 'Flying Apsara' commissioned in 1991 by Air India – resurfaced, the airline is now examining how many more former or serving Air India officials could be in possession of such paintings.
The missing paintings belonged to a collection worth Rs 200 crore, including works of famous painters such as MF Husain and Jatin Das.
Padma Bhushan awardee Das had earlier told PTI that “indifference, negligence and theft” were behind the painting going missing.
When initial reports of the missing paintings had surfaced, Union Minister Jayant Sinha had also said the government was looking closely into allegations of some of Air India's paintings going missing.
We are monitoring the media reports very closely. Air India has been keeping quite meticulous records over the years and making sure that all of the inventory is properly accounted for.Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation to reporters
(With inputs from PTI)
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