News Desk: In a significant cultural restitution, the United States has returned 657 stolen antiquities to India, collectively valued at nearly $14 million, marking one of the largest such repatriations in recent years.
The handover was announced by Alvin Bragg, who said the artefacts were recovered through multiple investigations into international trafficking networks targeting India’s cultural heritage. The formal return took place in New York in the presence of Indian Consulate officials, including Consul Rajlakshmi Kadam.
The U.S has returned 657 stolen #artefacts worth nearly $14 million to India after long-running investigations into global #smuggling networks linked to traffickers #SubhashKapoor and #NancyWiener.
Source: Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
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— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 30, 2026
Highlighting the scale of the illicit trade, Bragg noted that the recovery of over 600 artefacts underscores the vast reach of smuggling syndicates dealing in stolen heritage objects. He stressed that efforts will continue to trace and return more such items, crediting his office for sustained investigative work.
India’s Consul General in New York, Binaya Pradhan, welcomed the move and praised the coordinated efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the US Department of Homeland Security, and other enforcement agencies. He said their vigilance played a crucial role in recovering and repatriating culturally significant artefacts.
Among the returned items is a rare bronze idol of Avalokiteshvara, valued at around $2 million. The sculpture, originally part of a cache discovered near the Lakshmana Temple in 1939, later became part of the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur before being stolen and smuggled into the US by the early 1980s.
Another notable piece is a sandstone sculpture of a dancing Ganesha, believed to have been stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh around 2000.
The return of these artefacts not only restores invaluable pieces of India’s heritage but also signals intensifying global cooperation to combat the illicit trade in antiquities.
