It's Saturday, 10 May 2025. Rajasthan Arts Gallery opens at 10 AM as usual. Gallery assistant Meena Lal finds Jagdish Sharma, 63 — owner, curator, and the most powerful art dealer in the Pink City — slumped in his private office. He appears to have died quietly in his chair. No trauma. No forced entry.
The gallery's upcoming auction features 12 pieces estimated at ₹18 crore — four of which are suspected forgeries. Jagdish knew who painted them. Two people wanted that secret buried. One of them had been visiting every morning for a week, bringing tea.
| Victim | Jagdish Sharma, Male, 63 — Gallery Owner/Dealer |
|---|---|
| Scene | Private office, Rajasthan Arts Gallery, M.I. Road, Jaipur |
| Found | 10:05 AM by gallery assistant Meena Lal |
| Cause of Death | Chronic arsenic poisoning — accumulated over 8–10 days |
| TOD | 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM on day of discovery |
| # | Name | Role | Connection to Forgery Ring |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Pooja Agarwal, 41, F | Jagdish's business partner | Forged the paintings; Jagdish was about to expose her to the buyer and take sole credit for exposing the ring |
| S2 | Ramesh Trivedi, 55, M | Major buyer/collector | Had paid ₹7.2 crore for 3 forged pieces — victim was about to expose him as a willing buyer |
| S3 | Sunita Devi, 48, F | Jagdish's wife | No connection to forgeries — but stood to inherit the gallery (₹22 crore) |
| S4 | Anand Joshi, 33, M | Young artist / forger | Executed the forgeries under Pooja's direction — Jagdish was about to name him publicly |
| S5 | Inspector Mahesh Yadav, 50, M | Local police officer | Had been taking bribes to look away from the gallery's suspicious import records |