Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday handed over an antique bronze idol of Buddha to Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel here.
The Buddha statue is documented as "Seated Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra'' circa 12th century AD.
An official release said that the idol was stolen on August 22, 1961, from Nalanda Museum of ASI and had resurfaced at an auction in Masstricht (organised by a London based dealer Rossi & Rossi in Feb 2018).
After receiving the information, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officer in London contacted the Art and Antique Unit of Metropolitan Police.
ASI also certified that the statue was stolen from Archaeological Museum, Nalanda.
Scotland Yard handed over the statue to the then Indian High Commissioner to UK YK Sinha on August 15, 2018, to mark India's Independence Day.
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