ISLAMABAD: The wife of renowned Pakistani artist Mansoor Ahmed Rahi has filed an FIR against her son, accusing him of stealing paintings by her husband valued at over Rs1 billion, police reported on Friday.
Rahi, a prominent abstractionist who has significantly influenced many leading artists in Pakistan, was honored with the Pride of Performance Award in 2008 for his contributions to the arts.
According to police, the complaint was filed on Thursday, nearly eight months after the incident occurred. Shalimar police have registered a case under Section 380 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the artist’s son and his friends.
The FIR states that in January, the couple’s son, accompanied by six friends, visited their home in Sector F-11. He later took his parents out to dinner while his friends remained at the house. Upon returning, the son led his parents to an upstairs room, but Ms. Rahi heard noises coming from the basement. When she asked her son about it, he dismissed her concerns.
However, worried, she went to the basement and discovered that 70 to 80 of her husband’s paintings had been removed from their frames and rolled up into seven or eight bundles. According to the FIR, her son and his friends then loaded the paintings into a vehicle and left in front of her.
The FIR adds that Mr. Rahi was deeply shocked by his son’s actions, especially as the stolen paintings were worth approximately Rs1 billion, which severely impacted his health.
