02-10-2008, 07:48 PM
<b>The Great Indian Museum Scam</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kolkata, February 9
A well-networked cartel at the <b>Indian Museum in Kolkata, one of the biggest repositories of the countryâs cultural and historical heritage</b>, has been siphoning off crores of rupees under the pretext of preserving priceless artifacts, a probe has found.
A recent investigation by a central government team has detected a scam that involved misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs18 crore between 2004 and 2006. The magnitude of the scam could be even bigger, say investigators.
The fund was meant for gallery renovations for the Indian Museum, National Library, Rabindra Bharati University Library and Guru Saday Museum in West Bengal and for improvement of the state museums of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam Sankardev Kalakshetra Museum, Guwahati.
Highly-placed sources said West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, played a key role in pursuing the initial leads about the malpractices. A thorough probe by officials of the Central Government later revealed that at least Rs18 crore had been siphoned off.
âThis may just be the tip of the iceberg,â said an official of the team, expressing serious concern about the existence of priceless antiques supposed to be lying in the stores. Only a small fraction of the Indian Museumâs collection is displayed in the galleries, while the rest are kept in stores and have not been verfied for years.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kolkata, February 9
A well-networked cartel at the <b>Indian Museum in Kolkata, one of the biggest repositories of the countryâs cultural and historical heritage</b>, has been siphoning off crores of rupees under the pretext of preserving priceless artifacts, a probe has found.
A recent investigation by a central government team has detected a scam that involved misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs18 crore between 2004 and 2006. The magnitude of the scam could be even bigger, say investigators.
The fund was meant for gallery renovations for the Indian Museum, National Library, Rabindra Bharati University Library and Guru Saday Museum in West Bengal and for improvement of the state museums of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam Sankardev Kalakshetra Museum, Guwahati.
Highly-placed sources said West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, played a key role in pursuing the initial leads about the malpractices. A thorough probe by officials of the Central Government later revealed that at least Rs18 crore had been siphoned off.
âThis may just be the tip of the iceberg,â said an official of the team, expressing serious concern about the existence of priceless antiques supposed to be lying in the stores. Only a small fraction of the Indian Museumâs collection is displayed in the galleries, while the rest are kept in stores and have not been verfied for years.
...
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