Post date: Jan 14, 2014 9:36:44 PM
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returns three recovered sculptures, valued at more than $1.5 million (USD), to the Indian government. Officials on both sides say the event was not intentionally timed to thaw icy relations following the arrest of an Indian consulate employee in the U.S.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 14, 2014) (REUTERS) - The U.S. government officially returned three antique sculptures valued at more than $1.5 million (USD) to Indian officials at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday (January 14).
One of the objects, a 350 pound sandstone sculpture stolen from an Indian temple in 2009, was listed on INTERPOL's top ten list of most wanted stolen works of art."This case could not have been successful without the great collaboration effort between the United States and India," James Dinkins, the Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations, told journalists at a ceremony at the Indian consulate.
Asked if the timing of the ceremony was at all intended to help improve relations between the two nations, Dinkins said absolutely not.
"I can tell you this has been on my calendar for an event to happen for some time now so I think the two are coincidental," he said.
The two allies had a major diplomatic spat after the U.S. charged Devyani Khobragade, an Indian consular official, with visa fraud and lying to U.S. authorities about what she paid her housekeeper.
News of her arrest and a subsequent strip search provoked protests in India and strained ties between the two countries.
India's Consul General in New York, Dnyaneshwar Mulay told said that the ceremony was not coordinated to help relations between the two countries.
"No, these are two independent events. This has got nothing to do with what you're talking about," Mulay said.
He added that he thinks It will have a positive impact because it is symbolic of our cooperation."
Mulay went on to say that he believes that the U.S.-India relationship is "multifaceted" and "multidimensional" and that "things will happen."
Homeland Security officials did not give many details about the arrests surrounding the stolen sandstone deities. They did say that they were smuggled into the U.S. by art dealers and retrieved more than a year ago in Manhattan.
The works are originally from the Tamil Nadu region in India.