500-year-old Lord Hanuman idol stolen from TN to be repatriated to India soon: Culture Min

An idol of Lord Hanuman that was built between the 14th and 15th centuries and was stolen around a decade ago, is set to be brought back to India, Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Wednesday. According to Reddy, the idol was stolen from Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district and was later smuggled abroad. Notably, the idol was built during the period of the Vijayanagara empire and was found in possession of a private buyer in Australia.

Recently, the statue was returned to Indian High Commissioner Manpreet Vohra at Canberra by Australian Chargé d’Affaires Michael Goldman. As per the details proffered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the statue belongs to the Varadharaja Perumal temple located at Vellur village in Ariyalur district. The conservation and preservation of cultural-historical monuments in the country further said that the idol was stolen on April 9, 2012, along with two other idols--  Sri Devi idol and Boodevi.

US Homeland Security assisted Tamil Nadu police in recovering the idol

Subsequently, the 500-year-old idol was auctioned to a buyer in Australia. Later, during an investigation, it was established that the statues belong to India. The ASI informed that the Tamil Nadu Police's Idol Wing was assisted by the US Homeland Security.

According to PTI sources, the New York-based auction house, which had auctioned the idol, and the Australian buyer were unaware that the statue was stolen from an Indian temple. It is worth mentioning that the Indian government has retrieved around 212 artefacts, mainly statues in the last seven years. 

(Image: Twitter/@kishanreddybjp)