America Returns 1,440 Stolen Artifacts to India

The United States has returned 1,440 stolen artifacts of historical significance to India. These include ancient sculptures and artworks valued at approximately $1 million. Among these are artifacts stolen in the 1980s from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, such as a sandstone sculpture and a green-coloured figurine.
Artifacts stolen from India, numbering around 600, are expected to be handed over in the coming months.
According to Alvin L. Bragg Jr., District Attorney of Manhattan, a sandstone sculpture of a dancer stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh was divided into two parts and smuggled abroad. By February 1972, both parts had been illegally taken to London and later reassembled in New York. Another artifact, the green-coloured statue of Goddess Tenasser, was stolen from Tenasser-Mahadeva village in Rajasthan. In the 1950s, an Indian archaeologist documented this statue along with others of deities like Goddess Tenasser.
To commemorate the return of these artifacts to India, a special event was held in New York. Indian Consul General Manish Kulhari and Alexander Dammers, Director of Homeland Security Investigations, were present during the event.