The idol of Lord Hanuman, which was stolen and smuggled out of Tamil Nadu a decade ago, would be returned to India shortly, according to Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy. The Vijayanagar era statue, dating from 14-15 centuries, was recently discovered in Australia with a private buyer.
‘Five hundred-year-old Lord Hanuman bronze idol stolen from Tamil Nadu temple, to be repatriated back to India. The stolen idol retrieved by US Homeland Security was handed over to @HCICanberra by US CDA’, the minister tweeted.
500 year old Lord Hanuman bronze idol stolen from Tamil Nadu temple, to be repatriated back to ??
The stolen idol retrieved by US Homeland Security was handed over to @HCICanberra by US CDA
Under the leadership of PM Sh @narendramodi the repatriation of our heritage continues. pic.twitter.com/851HaEkVXG
— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) February 23, 2022
It was returned to Indian High Commissioner Manpreet Vohra by Australian Chargé d’Affaires Michael Goldman on Tuesday in Canberra.
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As per the ASI, on April 9, 2012, this idol, together with Sri Devi and Boodevi idols, was stolen from the Varadharaja Perumal temple in Vellur village, Ariyalur district. This idol was auctioned to an Australian bidder in March 2014. It was discovered and investigated to determine that it was the same idol that had been stolen from India. The US Department of Homeland Security aided the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing.
According to sources, neither the New York auction company nor the Australian bidder were aware that the idol had been stolen. In the previous seven years, the government has recovered 212 items, mostly sculptures.
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