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New Delhi : Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (I/C) Prahlad Singh Patel handed over the Bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Goddess Sita to Idol Wing, Government of Tamil Nadu, at a ceremony held on November 18, 2020, atASI Headquarters, Dharohar Bhawan, in New Delhi. Senior officials from the Ministry of Culture, ASI, and Government of Tamil Nadu, were also present on the occasion.
Earlier, on September 15, 2020, these Bronze idols were handed over to High Commission of India in London by Metropolitan Police, London. As per the photo documentation done in 1958, these idols belong to the Sri Rajagopal Vishnu Temple (temple built during the Vijayanagara period) in Anandamangalam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. As per the investigation carried out by the Idol wing of Tamil Nadu police, these idols were stolen from the Sri Rajagopal Vishnu Temple on November 23/24, 1978, according to a PIB release.
The bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Goddess 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.
Briefing the media during the handing over ceremony, Patel highlighted that under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, total 40 antiquities have been retrieved from foreign countries to India since 2014 while only 13 such antiquities were retrieved prior to 2014 from 1976.
He congratulated the Archaeological Survey of India, Special Idol Wing, Government of Tamil Nadu, DRI, and High Commission of India, London, for their continuous efforts in bringing these idols back to the country.