KATHMANDU: An idol of Laxmi-Narayan, brought back from the United States, was restored at its original place in Narayan temple following a religious ritual, in Patan, Lalitpur, on Saturday.

The idol of Laxmi-Narayan was stolen from the temple in 1984 and had been on display at the Dallas Museum of Arts since 1990. The theft of the statue was first mentioned in Nepali researcher Lain Sing Bangdel’s book Stolen Images of Nepal (1989).

The idol restoration event was held in the presence of US Ambassador Randy Berry, US Embassy officials, culture experts, and noted personalities and witnessed by hundreds of locals.

The idol’s successful return was realized last April following the combined effort of the U.S. and Nepali governments, and the Dallas museum.

Aside from bringing the idol back, we hope to inspire other countries and museums to look into the issues of stolen religious and cultural artifacts, and help reunite communities with their lost idols, the US Embassy said in its Facebook post, expressing happiness over the rightful restoration.