Bishawjit Saha, founder of publishing house Muktadhara Inc in the US, has denied allegations of stealing artwork composed by famed writer Humayun Ahmed before his death, insisting that he has returned them to the author's family.
In a case filed with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, the late author's wife Meher Afroz Shaon claimed four paintings drawn by Ahmed during his last days in the US had been stolen, reports bdnews24.com.
Saha's ex-wife Ruma Chowdhury and Monzurul Azim Palash are tied to the theft. Saha is mentioned in the petition, but not on the list of suspects.
“I have no connection with the exhibition of Humayun Ahmed’s artwork or its theft,” Saha said in a statement.
Humayun drew 24 paintings of his son Nishad while undergoing treatment for cancer in the US in 2012, Shaon said. He died on Jul 19 that year.
Humayun grew fond of Bishawjit and his former spouse Ruma at the time and handed them the paintings to hold an exhibition in June 2012.
Following his death, Shaon and his children returned home and when she asked for the paintings, Bishawjit and Ruma started “foot-dragging”, according to her.
Ruma sent 20 paintings to Humayun Ahmed’s mother Ayesha Fayez’s residence in Mirpur in February 2013, but four more paintings remain unaccounted for, Shaon said in the petition.
“Ruma came back to Bangladesh in 2015 after her divorce from Bishawjit. On Mar 31, Palash announced an exhibition of Humayun Ahmed's artwork, which included the missing ones, on his Facebook page.”
Denying the allegations of theft, Saha said that Humayun 'gifted' the four paintings to some people.
He added that he returned all of Humayun's paintings, except one, to his mother Ayesha Fayez in the presence of Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and the writer's other siblings.
“I handed over 20 paintings to his mother in 2013. One of the 24 paintings got lost during the exhibition. A GD [general diary] was filed with New York police over the matter and I provided a copy of it to Humayun Ahmed’s mother.”
“Humayun Ahmed gifted one painting to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, who was the permanent representative to the United Nations at the time. He gave another one to the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in the US. The 24th painting was given to Bangladesh Consul Gen Sabbir Ahmed.”
Foreign Minister Momen acknowledged receiving two paintings from Humayun. He gave one of the paintings to Bangladesh Consulate Office, while the other is still on display at the Bangladesh High Commission in the US.
All information and data about Humayun Ahmed’s artwork are mentioned in the book ‘Humayun Ahmeder Shesh Dinguli’ published by Bangla Academy, Saha said in his statement. It also contains photographs of the paintings, he added.
“Shaon complained that I formed a relationship with Ahmed in 2012 when he came to New York for treatment. She is not supposed to know when I became close to him. He always spent time with us. Muktadhara New York and Muktadhara Bangla Boi Mela were his only interests whenever he visited New York since 1994. This was long before Humayun met Shaon.”
Saha said that he took care of Humayun when he went to New York for treatment. For as long as Humayun was ‘in his senses’, he used Saha’s address in hospital forms and other records.
“I want to make it clear that I have handed over all paintings of Humayun Ahmed to his mother, as she was his guardian, and never gave those to Shaon. My main fault seems to be that Shaon could not get a grip on those paintings due to this decision.”
Shaon was not immediately available for comment.
