Chennai: Australia has returned a nearly 500-year-old idol of Lord Bajrangbali, which was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu, to India. It was handed over to the Indian Embassy in Australia. In this connection, the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region, Mr. Kishan Reddy tweeted that the Government of India is working towards bringing back all the valuables of the country. In this tweet, he also tagged PM Narendra Modi.
He further said that the metal idol of Lord Bajrangbali was stolen from the Vishnu temple in the 14th-15th century during the Chola period. He also said that so far 251 antiquities have been received from different countries. In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi said that we are working tirelessly to bring our priceless heritage back home. The idol was stolen from Sri Varatharaja Perumal, a Vishnu temple in the Pottavelli Vellur area of Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. This was documented in 1961 by the then French Institute of Pondicherry. The idol was returned to India in the last week of February and was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing on 18 April as case property.
According to reports, this idol was stolen along with the idol of Sridevi and Boodevi from the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Vellur village of Ariyalur district on April 9, 2012. In March 2014 the statue was auctioned to a buyer in Australia. After investigation, the identity of the idol was ascertained. The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing was assisted by the US Homeland Security in this matter. This statue was auctioned at the auction house located in New York. The Australian buyers claim that they were not aware of the statue being stolen.
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