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United States-based collector James Otis, who was in the news recently for auctioning a set of Mahatama Gandhi's personal belongings, has claimed he has rarer items of the father of the nation and he was ready to 'negotiate' with the Indian government about returning them.
These articles include the original of Harijan, a journal edited by Bapu, cotton clothes spun by him and his blood drops, claimed Otis.
Otis, grandson of the owner of the reputed Otis Lift Company, claimed that the blood drops of the Mahatama were collected from the site of his assassination.
Otis, who is currently in Dharamshala to meet Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, said he has other personal items of Gandhiji like the original Harijan journal edited by him and about 400 photographs of his, which have been collected from all over the world.
The collector also possesses cotton clothes spun by Bapu and a few signed letters by him to friends and associates.
On March 5, a slew of articles belonging to Mahatama Gandhi including his iconic steel-rimmed spectacles, a pair of sandals, a pocket watch, a bowl and a plate were auctioned in the US, and they were bought by India's liquor baron Vijay Mallya for $1.8 million.