US returns two antique statues stolen from India

NEW YORK: Two antique statues stolen from India and displayed at two American museums have been repatriated to India by the US. The first statue, 'Lingodhbhavamurti', a granite sculpture depicting an iconic representation of Lord Shiva, dates back to the Chola dynasty.
Currently valued at about $225,000, it was stolen from Tamil Nadu and was on display at the Birmingham Museum in Alabama. The second phyllite sculpture depicts the bodhisattva of wisdom, 'Manjusri', holding a sword and painted in gold leaf.Dating back to the 12th century, the statue was stolen from a temple near the Bodh Gaya Temple in Bihar in the late 1980s and is valued at $275,000.