MOOKERJEE: MAN IN COURT ACCUSED OF DAUBING NATIONAL GALLERY PAINTINGS WITH RED AEROSOL
A man accused of vandalising two 17th-century paintings at the National Gallery is being assessed by psychiatrists, a court heard today (Tues).
Saura Mookerjee, 57, is said to have daubed the two Nicholas Poussin works with red paint from an aerosol can at around 5pm on Sunday.
The Adoration of the Golden Calf and The Adoration of the Shepherds, both oil paintings which depict biblical scenes, were painted between 1633 and 1634.
Mookerjee, who has been held in custody since his arrest, has been seen by a psychiatrist and is due to be assessed again before returning to the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a further hearing on Thursday.
At a hearing today the court heard that doctors could recommend Mookerjee be detained using a hospital order, made under the Mental Health Act.
Lay magistrate Shirley Carlisle said: ‘We are going to remand you in custody until July 21 for a doctor to complete the application for a section 37 hospital order.’
Mookerjee, of (Flat 9), Davidge House, Coral Street, Waterloo, southeast London, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth during the short hearing.
He is yet to enter a plea to the single count of criminal damage and was remanded in custody.
ENDS
