Stolen bronze idols of Hindu gods recovered in UK handed over to Tamil Nadu

Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Prahlad Patel on Tuesday handed over bronze idols of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Goddess Sita to the Tamil Nadu government at the ASI headquarters in New Delhi, restituting the artifacts which were stolen over 20 years ago.

New Delhi:Union Minister of Culture Prahlad Patel on Wednesday handed over the 13th-century idols of Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman to Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu here.

He said that these idols were stolen some 20 years ago from a temple built in Vijayanagara period in Tamil Nadu and smuggled out of India, maybe to the United Kingdom.

The bronze idols of Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman were handed over to High Commission of India in London by the London Metropolitan Police on September 15, 2020.

"In August 2019, High Commission of India in London was informed by India Pride Project that four antique idols (Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanumana), stolen from a temple built in Vijayanagara period in Tamil Nadu and smuggled out of India," Patel said.

"The photo documentation of these three metal sculptures was done in June 1958 at Shri Rajagopal Vishnu Temple in Anadamangalam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu which helped us to prove that these idols belong to India. Based on the photo, these idols were examined and it was found that all the idols were the same that were stolen from the Vishnu Temple," he added.

The bronze image of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita are the masterpieces of Indian metal art and are 90.5 cm, 78 cm and 74.5 cm in height respectively. Stylistically, these sculptures are dateable to the 13th century AD.

Patel informed that now the total count of antiquities retrieved from foreign countries to India stands at 53 out of which 40 numbers of antiquities were brought back since 2014.

He also announced that as a part of the commemoration ceremony of 75th year of Indian independence, the agencies/applicants working in the areas of the Indian independence movement, heritage of India and other issue related to national importance will be exempted from payment of fees for shooting in different monuments of ASI during the period commencing from the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25 to August 15, 2021.

However, he added that those applicants or agencies who are interested in the shoot need to apply online for permission.