Chandigarh, June 25 -- In a swift diplomatic win, the controversial auction of Chandigarh's heritage furniture in Paris was halted just a day before it was to go under the hammer, after the UT administration wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), requesting intervention.

The escalation to the MEA, on the directions of UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria and active intervention by chief secretary H Rajesh Prasad, had come after two historically significant furniture pieces - linked to Panjab University (PU) and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) - were listed for sale by French auctioneer Francois Epin, with estimated values ranging between €4,000 and €7,000 (roughly Rs.4,30,132 and R...