Renowned Artist Sayed Haider Raza’s Rs 2.5 Crore Painting Stolen from Mumbai Warehouse
Mumbai, 11th September 2024: A painting by renowned artist Sayed Haider Raza, valued at over ₹2.5 crore, has reportedly been stolen from a warehouse in south Mumbai, according to police on Wednesday. The artwork, titled Prakriti (Nature) and created by the artist in 1992, was taken from the AstaGuru Auction House Private Limited’s warehouse, as stated by an official from the MRA Marg police station.
An FIR was filed on Monday against unknown individuals.
Raza, who spent the majority of his career in France, passed away in 2016 at the age of 94. His acrylic painting was stored in the warehouse at Ballard Pier during the COVID-19 pandemic, the official noted. The last sighting of the painting was in March 2022.
When the painting was discovered missing, Siddhant Shetty, Chief Administrative Officer of the auction house, reported it to the MRA Marg police.
“We have assembled a team to recover the painting and are examining CCTV footage to identify the culprit,” the official stated.
According to the complaint, the painting was consigned to the auction house by its owner, Indra Veer, for auction in 2020. It was last seen in March 2022. The owner requested that the painting be retained for auction this year, but it was not located among nearly 1,500 artworks during a subsequent search.
After realizing the painting was missing, Shetty filed a police report. The case has been registered under Indian Penal Code section 380 (theft) against unknown persons.
