India / 10th-century statue of Lord Shiva stolen in 1998 to return to India from UK

A 10th-century stone statue of Lord Shiva, which was stolen from Rajasthan's Ghateshwar Temple in 1998 and smuggled to the UK, will be returned to the Archaeological Survey of India. UK authorities were alerted in 2003 and the private collector who was in possession of the idol voluntarily returned it to the Indian High Commission in the UK in 2005.

Indiatimes : Jul 31, 2020, 09:08 AM
New Delhi: An ancient statue of Lord Shiva was stolen from a temple in Rajasthan and smuggled to the UK. Now, the priceless idol is all set to be returned to its rightful place in India. 

The statue is four feet tall and was created in the late 9th century in the 'Prathihara' style of Rajasthan. It is said to have been stolen from the Gateshwar temple in Baroli, Rajasthan in 1998, reported ANI.

It was later discovered that the statue was brought to the United Kingdom where it was found in the collection of a wealthy private collector. Then the British authorities and Indian officials combined their efforts and the statue was voluntarily handed over by the collector to the Indian High Commission in London in the year 2005.