New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) More than 250 antique artefacts were repatriated to India from different countries, of which 238 have been brought back since 2014, officials said on Monday.

An ancient idol of Lord Hanuman, dating to the late Chola period and stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu, was traced abroad and returned to India recently, a senior official said.

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The Government of India is working towards safeguarding the country's antiquarian heritage within the nation and is instrumental in retrieving antique artefacts that were unlawfully taken abroad, the official from the Union Ministry of Culture said.

"Till date, 251 antiquities have been retrieved from different countries, of which 238 have been brought back since 2014," he said.

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The sculpture of Lord Hanuman was stolen from Shri Varatharaja Perumal, a Vishnu temple in the Pottaveli Vellur area of Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district, the officials said.

It belongs to the late Chola period (14th -15th century), they said.

It was documented by the "French institute of Pondicherry" in 1961.

"The sculpture was handed over to the High Commissioner of India in Canberra (in Australia)," the official said.

The idol was returned to India in the last week of February and handed over to the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing as a case property on April 18, he added.

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