Mumbai: Courier misplaces Rs 4.3-lakh paintings, staff offer Rs 5K ‘relief’

Mira Bhayandar Crime Branch team hands over the paintings to Das on Wednesday

A fan from Riyadh wanted to buy four paintings worth Rs 4.3 lakh from artist Manoj Das. All he had to do was courier the artworks to him. But that was the beginning of a frustrating journey for Das as the consignment got lost in transit. Instead of tracing it, the staff allegedly offered him Rs 5,000 as compensation. Das then approached the police who tracked the paintings to Chennai and handed them over to him.

Bhayandar resident Das said he has showcased his work at exhibitions in several countries. Last December, a fan from Riyadh placed an order for our paintings, including that of Radhakrishna and Lord Ganesha. The deal was finalised at Rs 4.3 lakh. Police said they worked on the matter for 1.5 months.

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Manoj Das, the artist

The artist said it had taken 9 months for him to finish the paintings. "The paintings were couriered for Riyadh on March 2 from the office of Blue Dart at Hotcase area of Mira Bhayandar by paying a fee of Rs 22,000," he said. In his police complaint, Das said Blue Dart employees Navin Rawale and Mahesh Gurav opened and checked the packet before booking the consignment.

"The customer called me when the painting did not reach him even after a month. I went to the courier office to inquire about it but no one gave me a proper answer. Even when I went with a lawyer, the company representative did not help me," said Das.

Left with no option, Das informed the police. "I also managed to speak assistant manager Minam Grethi of Blue Dart on April 28. I was told they were unable to trace the shipment. They said they were ready to pay Rs 5,000 in return," he said.

Two of the paintings that Das wanted to ship to Riyadh

On the advice of a few friends and colleagues, Das met Mira-Bhayandar Police Commissioner Sadanand Date on April 29. "Date ordered the Crime Branch to investigate the matter. The Crime Branch officers then followed the trail and discovered that the paintings had reached Chennai instead of Riyadh," said Das.

The artist visited the Kashimira Crime Branch Unit XI on Wednesday where senior inspector Aviraj Kurade in the presence of PSI Hitendra Vichare and other staff handed over the paintings to him.

"I don't want to complain against anyone but they [courier company employees] should have been more responsible," said Das. Kurade said, "We worked on this matter for one-and-a-half months. We went through footage from many CCTV cameras, studied Blue Dart's tracking system and finally found the paintings in Chennai."

Other side mum

mid-day called Navin Rawale to get his version. He listened to this reporter first and then began speaking to another colleague before abruptly hanging up. Rawale then didn't respond to calls and messages from this newspaper.

Rs 22K
Amount Das paid to courier the paintings