The details of theft cases from the Centrally Protected Monuments are given at Annexure-I.

Details of the retrieval of antiquities during the last five years are given at Annexure ‘II’.

The government takes necessary steps towards prevention of the theft of antiquities. Besides regular watch and ward staff, private security guards and Central Industrial Security Force have been deployed as per requirement at Monuments of National Importance, Sites and Museums. Whenever any theft of antiquity is reported; FIR is lodged and ‘Look out Notice’ is issued to the law-enforcement agencies including Custom Exit Channels to keep vigil to trace stolen antiquity and prevent export.

The repatriation of antiquities is a continuous process. The process of repatriation takes place with the help of Ministry of External Affairs, (MEA) and Indian Embassies/Missions, as and when any antiquity is traced or surfaced abroad.

     This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

 

ANNEXURE-I

DETAILS OF STOLEN ANTIQUITIES DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS

S.No.	State	Name of Monuments/Sites (from where the antiquities were stolen and location)	Name  of object stolen	Year of theft	Status
	Andhra Pradesh	Golingeswara group of Temples, Biccavolu, District East Godawari.	Nandi sculpture	2021	Recovered
	Uttarakhand	Bhairav Temple, Mrityunjay Temple Complex, Dwarahat, District Almora.	Shiva Linga	2021	Recovered
	Jharkhand	Sitagarha Archaeological Excavation Site, District Hazaribagh.	Two sculptures of Buddha in bhumisparsha mudra	2021	Recovered
	Karnataka	Ganpati Amma Shrine of Lakshminarasimha Temple, Marehalli, District Mandya.	Stone idol of Ganpati	2022	Not Recovered
	Bihar	Village Dattina, P.S Vikram, District Patna.	Image of Vishnu	2022	Not Recovered
	Tamil Nadu	Parthasarathi and Krishna Temples, Parthivapuram, Vilavancode, District Kanyakumari.	Idol of Vishnu	2024	Recovered

 

Annexure II

DETAILS OF THE RETRIEVAL OF ANTIQUITIES DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS (UPTO 30 JUNE, 2026)

Year	Name of the Country	Number of Antiquities
2021	UK	01
	Canada	01
	USA	157
2022	Australia	29
	UK	01
2023	Australia	02
	UK	07
	USA	105
	Italy	01
2024	Thailand	01
	USA	297
2026	Australia	11
	USA	02
Total		615

***

M Annadurai

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