UK restores 3 priceless statues of Vijayanagara period stolen from Tamil Nadu to India

New Delhi, Sep 16: Three priceless statues of the Vijayanagar period that were stolen have been restored to the Tamil Nadu government.

The status of the Vijayanagara period were stolen from the Vishnu Temple, at Nagapatinnam in 1978. These statues were recovered by the High Commission of India, London with the support of the Met Police London.

The statues were restored to the government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad S Patel.

Patel expressed gratitude to the High Commission of London, Archaeological Survey of India and Government of Tamil Nadu for making efforts to recover the statues.

"The Indian Embassy in the UK handed over 3-feet-tall bronze statues of Sri Ram, Laxman and Sita of Vijayanagara period which were stolen from Tamil Nadu, to India," Patel said in a tweet.

"The statues have been brought back with the efforts of the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Embassy of India and the Archaeological Survey of India, I would like to thank all of them," he further added.

43 of the 56 artifacts that have been restored after India's independence were handed during the leader of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, he also said.