Vadodara:

An artist and painter, who was in controversy over a decade ago here for making indecent paintings of Jesus Christ and a Hindu Goddess, was today arrested for setting ablaze the administrative office of MS University of which he was a former student.

Two computers and as many CPUs and UPs and furniture along with some document were brunt to ashes in the incident.

S Chandramohan, a native of Andhra Pradesh, reportedly committed the offense as he was angry that the university was not handing him over his certificates lying with it.

Chandramohan (37), after completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in Hyderabad pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) here. He was at the center of a controversy regarding artwork that he exhibited at the Faculty of Fine Arts, when was a final year post-graduate student on May 9, 2007. The paintings were part of an annual exam, however by tradition, the public was invited to view the paintings. Among the earliest to protest was the district superintendent of the Methodist Church in Baroda, Reverend Emmanuel Kant. Later BJP and some of the Hindu organizations also protested against him. Defending his act of making nude paintings of revered figures he had stated that his aim was to show the purity, truth and reality in human beings using the images of god and goddesses. He was also arrested and was later released for that incident.

Fire Officer Inayat Y Shaikh today said that Chandramohan had poured petrol in the office situated on the ground floor of the three stories building of the Administrative block. ‘We got a call at around 5 pm and put out the fire quickly within half an hour. Though 2 computers and some furniture were gutted yet we managed to save several important documents kept in at least six Almirahs there. Around 70 to 80 people were safely rescued from the building,’ he said.

‘Chandramohan was nabbed by people from the spot and handed over to the Sayajiganj police. The administrative office informed us that he was suspended in the past owing to controversy regarding his indecent paintings of gods and goddesses. He wanted his certificates back,’ he said.

PI of Sayajiganj Harish Vora said that Chandramohan has been nabbed and the whole matter was under investigation.

DeshGujarat

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