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Visva-Bharati employee held

Special Correspondent

Bolpur police seize paintings, artefacts believed stolen over the years

Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation team, probing the theft of the Nobel medallion awarded to Rabindranath Tagore, has reportedly found fresh clues pertaining to the case during interrogation of those arrested in a racket in stolen paintings, sculptures and antiques recently unearthed in Santiniketan in West Bengal.

The medallion was stolen from the Rabindra Bhavan museum of the Visva-Bharati University campus in March 2004. It was subsequently replaced by a replica made available by the Nobel Foundation following a special request by the university authorities.

Earlier this week, the local Bolpur police raided different places in Santiniketan, including a studio, and seized a large number of oil paintings, antiques and other artefacts believed to have been stolen over the years.

The paintings belonged to the Bengal school and included some works of Tagore though their authenticity is being verified. A painting of Ramkinkar Baij has also been seized.

A non-teaching employee of the Visva-Bharati was arrested in connection with the racket on Wednesday evening, bringing the total number of those apprehended to seven.

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