An insurance company that had insured Rabindra Nath Tagore's Nobel medal against theft has fixed its insured value at Rs 80 lakh but Vishwa Bharati, which was the custodian of the medal, has refused to accept the sum.

Vishwa Bharati has said that the sum was too little, in fact, just half the amount the medal had been insured for.

Tagore's Nobel medal was stolen in March 2004 from Rabindra Bhavan, the museum in Shantiniketan. Three and a half years on, there is still no trace of it and the CBI has closed its investigation into the case.

But Vishwa Bharati University, which runs the museum, and which had insured the medal against theft, is still waiting for the insurance company to settle its claim.

Vishwa Bharati had insured the Nobel medal back in 1983 for Rs 1.6 crore and five days after its theft, it had put in a claim with the insurance company for that sum.

Initially, the insurance company had held up payment as the theft was being investigated. Then, finally, on August 24, the insurance company informed Vishwa Bharati that it would pay it a sum of Rs 80 lakh only, an offer Vishwa Bharati rejected.

In fact, Vishwa Bharati wants the insurer to factor in the sentimental value attached to the medal.

Amitava Choudhury, PRO, Vishwa Bharati said, ''From our side we have told NIC that the prestige and emotional value should be considered while fixing up the claim. Just remember it is not a gold medal. The value of the gold is nothing but the value of the Nobel is something, which we can't imagine and that should be counted by NIC.''

But the insurance company claims Vishwa Bharati had insured not just the medal but also the Nobel certificate. The certificate was not stolen. So, it would pay only half the insured sum.

Also, the insurer says there is no way to fix an emotional value of the stolen object.

''They have taken a policy for not only the medallion but also the certificate that was provided with the medal and certificate was not stolen. The surveyor appointed has assessed the loss of medallion only for Rs 80 lakh. But unfortunately we cannot asses the emotional or sentimental value,'' said V Ramasaamy, Chairman, National Insurance.

Vishwa Bharati is not willing to accept this argument.

''They have calculated that for the medallion we have given Rs 1.6 crore. They have said citation has not been stolen; the box has not been stolen. We will give 50 per cent. This cannot be accepted by Vishva Bharati,'' said Amitava Choudhury.

As Vishwa Bharati and the insurance company tussle over the issue, the only silver lining to this dark cloud over the Nobel theft is, both parties want it resolved at the earliest.

When it comes to make an insurance claim, insurance companies are known to make their customers run from pillar to posts and this time they have not even spared the Vishwa Bharati authorities who are claiming the insurance for Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel which was stolen from Vishwa Bharati.

Three years have passed since the claim was made and wait continues for the Vishwa Bharati officials.