Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said on Saturday that the 10th century Yogini Devi idol is being brought to India. This sandstone idol with the head of a goat was stolen from a temple in Banda district 40 years ago. The statue was handed over to the Indian High Commissioner in London a day earlier. In October last year, this statue was found in a garden in England.

This idol is a part of Yogini installed in the temple located in Lokhari village of Banda district of Bundelkhand. Yogini Devi is considered to be the goddess of the Tantric tradition. After being brought back, this idol will be handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in New Delhi.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Culture, it has been said that in 1986, on behalf of the Indian Museum in New Delhi, Vidya Daheja studied the tradition of Yogini Goddesses. Later it was also published in the name of 'Yogini Panth and Temple: A Tantric Tradition'. This statue was seen at the Art Bazaar in London in 1988. In October last year, the Indian High Commission was informed about the statue being found in a garden in England.

The ancient statue was accepted by India's High Commissioner to London Gayatri Issar Kumar on Friday. The India Pride Project, Singapore and Art Recovery International, London assisted the High Commission of India, London in expediting the identification and recovery of the statue, while the High Commission of India prepared the necessary documents with local and Indian authorities.

Let us tell you that a similar statue of Vrishna Yogini with the head of a buffalo was recovered in 2013 by the Indian Embassy in Paris, the capital of France. This idol was also stolen from the same temple in Lokhri village from where the goat head idol was stolen. The Statue of the Testament Yogini was installed at the National Museum in New Delhi in September 2013. 

Panaji. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the pastor, who was arrested recently for allegedly luring people to convert to Christianity in the state, already has several cases, including one related to the death of a person. Talking to reporters on Saturday, Sawant said that the state government fully respects the right to religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution, but there will be no tolerance for forcing people to convert with the lure of money or other things.

Dominic D'Souza, a pastor operating in North Goa's Saligao, about 20 km from the capital Panaji, and his wife Joan were arrested on Thursday after two people filed separate complaints, a police official said. In these complaints, it was alleged that both were involved in conversion. The official had said that the pastor and his wife were allegedly motivating people to convert to Christianity by offering money or luring them to get treatment for the disease.

Sawant said that earlier also the cases of forced conversions allegedly by D'Souza had come to the notice of the police. He said a case was also registered against the pastor in connection with the death of a man, to whom he allegedly applied "miraculous oil". Sawant said that action has been taken against the priest as per law and the investigation will continue. The police have also booked the priest and his wife under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and indulging in willful and malicious acts with intent to outrage religious sentiments, besides drugs and miracles. A case has been registered under the provisions of the Remedy (Objectionable Advertisement) Act.