Socialite in elaborate art fraud scheme

MUMBAI: A metropolitan magistrate here on Friday accepted the B summary with prosecution report against Sheetal Mafatlal in a 2012 case filed by her against three persons who she falsely accused, the police had concluded, of stealing her paintings.

"Sheetal Mafatlal intentionally executed a scheme to create fake copies of 31 paintings by well known artists to falsely accuse her friends of forgery and theft while she kept all original valuable paintings with herself," the police closure report stated as it cleared three persons of theft and sought the socialite's prosecution.

Sheetal removed 47 paintings from the Mafatlal bungalow and stored it at the Fine Art warehouse in Wadala. She sent more than 15 paintings to Vikram Bawa to be made copies of and paid him over Rs 2 lakh in cash in 2011, according to a statement Bawa gave the cops.