US returns stolen antiquities worth Rs 117 core to India

NEW DELHI: A major success in efforts to recover India's cultural heritage. The US has handed over to India 657 antiquities that had reached the US through international smuggling networks. The antiquities, worth approximately Rs 117 crore ($14 million), were handed over to the country by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The discovery of the priceless collection was made following investigations into international antiquities smugglers Subhash Kapoor and Nancy Wiener, who are serving prison sentences in India. They sold illegally smuggled sculptures and paintings from temples and ancient sites in India to private individuals and galleries worldwide. Among the recovered items are many works of historical and economic value.

Avalokiteshvara statue
This is a rare bronze statue worth around 16 crores (two million). It is made in the form of a lotus on a throne supported by lions. Stone inscriptions indicate that it was made by a sculptor named Dronaditya of Sipur in Chhattisgarh. The statue was stolen in 1982 and was recovered from a private collection in New York in 2014.

Sandstone Ganesha Statue
Among the items recovered was a dancing Ganesha statue stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2000. It was smuggled to the US by a criminal named Vaman Ghia. The Buddha statue in the Abhaya Mudra is a standing Buddha statue carved from red sandstone. This sculpture from North India is worth Rs 60 crore ($7.5 million).

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which issued an arrest warrant for Subhash Kapoor in 2012, has been taking strict measures to stop the smuggling of antiquities. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit has so far returned more than 5,900 antiquities in 36 countries. They have so far found about 6,200 cultural treasures worth more than $485 million.