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Indian’s medal taken off auction in UK
An Indian soldier’s George Cross medal for bravery was taken off the auction from Dix Noonan Webb in London on Tuesday pending a police probe into its ownership.
An Indian soldier’s George Cross medal for bravery was taken off the auction from Dix Noonan Webb in London on Tuesday pending a police probe into its ownership.
The medal, Britain’s highest civilian gallantry decoration, was awarded posthumously to Naik Kirpa Ram of the Frontier Force Rifles in 1946 for sacrificing his life in order to save his Army comrades from harm.
But its ownership became disputed after Ram’s impoverished widow Brahmi Devi claimed the medal was stolen from her house in Bharpal village, Himachal Pradesh, in 2002.
The auction house initially dismissed her claim, saying it had affidavits to show she had “disposed of” the medal in 2000, but climbed down after Himachal Pradesh authorities belatedly swung into action.
The medal, which was to have been auctioned on Wednesday, was expected to have fetched around 20,000 pounds.
