LONDON: A 12th century Buddha statue stolen from a museum at Nalanda in Bihar nearly 60 years ago has been returned to India by UK’s Metropolitan Police as part of a ceremony here to mark India’s Independence Day.
The bronze statue with silver inlay is one of the 14 statues stolen in 1961 from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site museum in Nalanda and changed several hands over the years before surfacing at a London auction.
Once the dealer and the owner were made aware the sculpture was the same one that had been stolen from India, the Metropolitan Police said they cooperated with the Met’s Art and Antiques Unit and agreed for the piece to be returned to India.
The statue was identified at a trade fair in March this year by Lynda Albertson of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA) and Vijay Kumar from the India Pride Project, who then alerted the police.
Scotland Yard returned the stolen statue to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Y K Sinha, as part of the ceremony to mark Independence Day at India House in London.
“I am delighted to return this piece of history. This is an excellent example of the results that can come with close cooperation between law enforcement, trade and scholars,” said Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Sheila Stewart, who was accompanied by officials from the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport at the handover ceremony.
“Although this was stolen over 50 years ago, this did not prevent the piece being recognized and the credit must go to the eagle eye informants who made us aware that the missing piece had been located after so many years,” she said.
Sinha described the return of the “priceless Buddha” as a “wonderful gesture” and a particular honor given his own roots in Bihar.
“I hope it will now go back to where it originally belongs… On our Independence Day, it (return of the statue) highlights the multi-faceted cooperation between our two countries,” he said, after a Tricolor-hoisting ceremony to mark India’s 72nd Independence Day at the Indian High Commission in London.
Detective Constable Sophie Hayes of the Met’s Art and Antique Unit said that it had been established that there was no criminality by the current owner or the dealer who had been offering the stolen statue for sale. PTI
