Guest guest Posted May 22, 2002 Report Share Posted May 22, 2002 HC Asks Centre To Further Investigate Sonia Links Our Legal Correspondent New Delhi, May 21: The Delhi High Court has asked the government to find out the owners of antique shops Ganapati and Etnica in Italy. The order was passed following a petition filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy accusing Congress chief and Opposition Leader Sonia Gandhi of smuggling antiques into Italy, and having links as also receiving financial favours from KGB, the foreign intelligence network of the erstwhile Soviet Union. A division bench comprising justice Devender Gupta and justice Shameet Mukherjee on Tuesday directed the cultural affairs ministry to write to the Indian embassy in Italy to find out about the ownership of these shops. Government counsel Jayant Bhushan informed the court that CBI is probing Ms Gandhi's alleged links with the KGB, and that the government will wait for the CBI report before taking any action. The court told the petitioner that he can file a written argument to the reply filed by the government. It has been alleged that between 1991-1994, a racket was developed by which Indian antiques were given false certification as non-antiques and then taken mainly from the Chennai and Bangalore airports to Italy and then sold to British auction houses. One such case was that of a terracotta panel which was found in the Rijks Museum. It has also been alleged that the cost of the loot was around Rs 10,000 crore. The petitioner further alleged that Ms Gandhi used her influence and political clout to cover up the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.