Thieves steal paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse from Italian private museum
Rome, March 30: Thieves made off with three paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth millions from a museum near the city of Parma in northern Italy, police said on Monday.
TThe heist took place on the night of March 22-23, with thieves forcing open the entrance door, police said.
The three stolen paintings are Fish by Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cezanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum, lies in the heart of the countryside 20 km from Parma. Local media reported that the thieves were able to nab the paintings in less than three minutes and escape across the museum gardens.
Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of the art historian Luigi Magnani and also includes works by Durer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.
The crime in Parma comes after a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including a major incident in October where thieves stole jewels and other items worth 88 million euros from the Louvre in Paris. (AP)
Identity of kin of Indira Gandhi’s assassin revealed after he lost case to keep name secret in New Zealand: Report
Wellington, March 30: The identity of the nephew of one of Indira Gandhi’s assassins, convicted in a drug case, was revealed after he lost a bid in a New Zealand court to keep his name secret, a local media report said.
Baltej Singh, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for importing over 700 kg of methamphetamine, the largest amount ever seized by New Zealand authorities, was fighting for permanent name suppression, New Zealand’s Stuff web portal reported on Saturday.
Earlier, Singh, nephew of Satwant Singh, one of the bodyguards who assassinated then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, was granted permanent name suppression by the High Court after arguing that he and his family would face extreme hardship if his identity was revealed. The New Zealand authorities appealed against the ruling, and last November, the Court of Appeal ruled that Singh could be named, it said.
Singh, a former Auckland businessman, sought leave to take the fight to the Supreme Court, but he has now abandoned that appeal, clearing the way for New Zealand media to reveal his identity, the report said. (PTI)
