The US has returned to India three ancient
sculptures that had been smuggled into the US by art dealers and accomplices.
The move followed a month of tense ties after a row
over an Indian diplomat who was arrested in the US.
The row erupted after the diplomat, Devyani
Khobragade, was arrested in New York on charges of visa fraud and underpaying
her housekeeper.
She is now back in India after an apparent agreement
with Washington.
India's consul general in New York, Dnyaneshwar
Mulay, refused to acknowledge any link between the row over the diplomat and
the return of the antiquities, but expressed gratitude to US.
"I'd really like to express very heartfelt
gratitude to US authorities for having invested so much time, energy and
resources in obtaining, securing and now helping us repatriate these [idols] to
the place where they belong," Mr Mulay was quoted as saying by The Hindu
newspaper.
James Dinkins, executive associate director of
Homeland Security Investigations, said "excellent cooperation"
between the two countries had "led to the recovery and return of these
priceless antiquities".
"The pilfering of a nation's cultural patrimony
cannot and will not be tolerated," he said.
The 11th-12th Century sandstone sculptures had been
stolen from temples in India and offered for sale in the US by art dealers and
their accomplices, media reports say.
The handover comes days after India's Foreign
Minister Salman Khurshid played down the row with Washington, saying there was
"no stand-off" with the US.
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