Two ancient statues allegedly looted from temples in India have been handed back to the country by Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott.
The decision to return the antiquities during a visit to India was “testimony to Australia’s good citizenship on such matters and the importance with which Australia views its relationship with India”, Mr Abbott’s office said.
The handover of the statues of two Hindu gods took place during a meeting between Mr Abbott and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
The decision marks the end of a long-running dispute over the two pieces, which were bought from a New York-based art and antiquities dealer, Subhash Kapoor.
The statues were part of an alleged art fraud in which prosecutors said that Mr Kapoor sold a bronze sculpture of a dancing Shiva, left, to the National Gallery of Australia for $5 million (£3 million) in 2008.
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A stone sculpture of the god Ardhanariswara, which was also linked to Mr Kapoor, ended up in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
However, the items were withdrawn from display earlier this year after allegations that they had been stolen from temples in southern India. Mr Kapoor is currently in prison in India awaiting trial over the alleged fraud.
Mr Abbott is in India for talks on trade with Mr Modi and to finalise a deal to supply the country with uranium for its civil nuclear power programme.