Chintan Upadhyay in jail, Baroda exhibition postponed

Chintan Upadhyay's upcoming exhibition in Baroda has been postponed indefinitely. Titled 'Gandi Baat', the exhibition was scheduled to be held at an art complex by the end of February. However, with Upadhyay under investigation for his former wife Hema's murder, his works that were to be displayed at the exhibition are yet to be finished.

Delhi-based artist Anish Ahluwalia was with Upadhyay last year in Jaipur, when the police questioned them for an art display called 'Bovine Divine', featuring a plastic cow suspended in the air.

Ahluwalia told ETPanache that Upadhyay had lined up sculptures, drawings and paintings for the Baroda exhibition. However, he was planning to finish his works this month.

Upadhyay's arrest has shaken the art community. "Whatever marital dispute was there, it was being addressed in the court. Hema's death is a big loss but Chintan's incarceration on baseless suspicions has shaken people. But that is how judiciary and the police work," said Ahluwalia.

Hema Upadhyay (Image: BCCL)
Having met Upadhyay, Ahluwalia said that the artist was upset but confident in his belief that the police had no evidence against him. "The crime branch gave him a clean chit. Then the local police got hold of him and within three hours, they arrested him. What is it that the local police had that the crime branch did not have?" he said. "This damage cannot be undone."

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