Vijaynagar period stolen murtis of Ram, Sita, Lakshman returned to India by UK

Chennai: Three murtis of Ram, Sita and Lakshman, belonging to Vijayanagara period, stolen from Vishnu Temple at Nagapattinam in 1978, have been recovered by High Commission of India, London with support of Metropolitan Police. They have been restored to Government of Tamil Nadu in presence of Union Minister for Culture & Tourism Prahlad Patel today, said High Commissioner of India in London today.

The murtis were stolen 40 years ago. They are 3-ft tall. Tourism minister Prahlad Patel said that after the Independence (in 1947), total 46 ancient artefact have been brought back to India from abroad. Of them 43 have been brought back only under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Patel said, three bronze murtis that belong to pre-1500 (AD) period are now returned thanks to the efforts of Tamil Nadu government, Indian High Commission and Archaeological Survey of India. DeshGujarat