Team News Riveting
The stolen 15th century sculptures of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana will be back to India from the United Kingdom after nearly four decades.
Lord Rama accompanied Sita and Lakshmana during his 14-year “vanvas (exile)” during Ramayana. Interestingly, when his idol was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu decades ago, the culprits accompanied the idols of Sita and Lakshmana too.
The bronze statues of Lord Rama, Lakshamana and Mata Sita are 90.5 cm, 78 cm, and 74 cm in height individually and are masterpieces of Indian Metal Art. These sculptures were stolen from Nagapattinam district of TN in 1978 from a Vijayanagar period temple. The sculptures are datable to the 15th century A.D.
An investigation by the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police working along with colleagues in the Metropolitan Police in London led to the discovery.
The idols were handed over to the Indian High Commissioner in London.
In a ceremony streamed from India House in London in keeping with the limit on gatherings due to the COVID-19 restrictions, priests from Sri Murugan Temple in London conducted a short religious ceremony for their handover to India.
“Today marks the successful completion of the search and rescue operation of these very beautiful idols, which were consecrated and worshipped side by side for years. We wanted to ensure these deities were handled with due reverence and propriety before they are shipped back to India,” said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar.
The UK-based collector behind the handover, who has chosen to stay anonymous, was described as a lover of Indian art and culture. Addressing the virtual event, officials from the state government of Tamil Nadu praised his voluntary intervention and expressed the hope that no further action will be taken against him.
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