A recent “mysterious” theft of valuable heritage furniture — eight cushioned V-chairs and two tables — from a storeroom at the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 here has raised questions about the seriousness of the Chandigarh Administration in protecting heritage items, that invariably find their way to auction houses abroad.

In the past, heritage furniture from the city has been sold at auction houses in Paris, New York and Chicago, and has fetched handsome amounts.

The “thieves” sneaked into the storeroom through a windowpane and fled with the booty after breaking open a door at the rear side of the centre, which is not properly guarded. Only one guard, hired from a private security agency, was deployed at the centre that has priceless heritage furniture, including a table used by Le Corbusier.

Ironically, the centre does not have CCTVs. The Director  of the Le Corbusier Centre, Deepika Gandhi, said CCTVs would be installed soon.

In all probability, the theft that took place at the centre on the night of September 23, would have got unnoticed had the suicide by Mohan Joshi, a Home Guards volunteer doubling as a private security guard at the centre, not led to a protest by his family, who alleged that the victim was being framed by the authorities in a theft case.

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Stolen heritage V-chairs have earlier been sold in auction houses abroad for anything between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh each. A number of similar chairs are still lying at the Le Corbusier Centre.