OVER THREE years after the murder of contemporary artist Hema Upadhyay and subsequent arrest of her estranged husband Chintan — another internationally renowned artist — hit headlines, their paintings were a part of an auction in Mumbai Thursday. Advertising The auction conducted by Saffronart, as part of its spring online auction, featured a collection of 89 works by India’s foremost modern and contemporary artists. In the auction that opened on Wednesday and closed on Thursday, Hema’s painting, procured by Saffronart in February 2015, was sold at Rs 7.20 lakh but Chintan’s remained unsold. The auction also included works by renowned artists like by S H Raza, Raja Ravi Varma and the likes. While for Raza artwork, bids were expected between Rs 14 and 21 crore, Varma’s Hanuman’s discourse was up for sale for a price ranging between Rs 4 and 6 crore. Saffronart, earlier this week, had conducted an auction on behalf of the income tax department of 68 artworks belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and his company. The auction has fetched tax officials Rs 54.8 crore. Advertising In December 2015, bodies of Hema and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani were found in a drain at Kandivali. The police, which arrested Chintan, subsequently filed a chargesheet claiming that impending bitter divorce proceedings and a dispute over properties co-owned by the estranged couple led him to give a contract to a metal fabrication artist, Vidyadhar Rajbhar, to eliminate Hema. While Rajbhar is still on the run, Chintan is in jail. A spokesperson from the auction house said, “Like every other work in this sale, the Hema Upadhyay work was consigned to Saffronart and proceeds of the sale will go to the consignor whose name we cannot disclose as it is standard practice.” Artist Aamir Rizvi, a friend of the Upadhyays, said: “Hema was a fantastic artist and it is great that her legacy lives on and her works are still appreciated. It is extremely sad that she is no more.”

Stay updated with all the Mumbai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.