USA handed over three stolen 10th Century Indian artifacts to India

USA handed over the three stolen 10th century Indian artifacts to Indian consulate in New York on 14 January 2014.

The stolen artifacts include a sandstone sculpture of Vishnu and Lakshmi, a sandstone sculpture of Vishnu and Parvati and a black stone figure of Bodhisattva. The artifacts are together valued between 1.5 to 2 million dollar. The artifacts were stolen in 2009.

The 350-pound Vishnu and Lakshmi sandstone sculpture belong to the 11th to 12th century period. It was stolen from the Gadgachh temple in Baran district of Rajasthan. Interpol had listed it as No. 6 on the world's top 10 most wanted artworks.

The 600-pound sandstone sculpture of "Vishnu and Parvati" also belongs to the same period and was stolen from the same temple.

The sandstone sculptures were discovered by the Homeland Security Investigations, which operates under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The Homeland Security Investigations received information about the stolen artefacts in 2010 from India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

The black sandstone figure of Bodhisattva belongs from an unspecified location in India. It was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The last cultural property repatriation to India was in 2006 when American officials returned a 9th century stone idol that was stolen from a temple in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, in 2000.