The statue of 19th century Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit
Singh has been vandalised for the third time in Lahore, Pakistan, reports said.
"Shameful this bunch of illiterates are really
dangerous for Pakistan's image in the world," commented Pakistan
Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Twitter.
Member of a radical party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
(TLP) pulled down Ranjit Singh's statue at the Lahore Fort. The statue had
previously been vandalized by TLP workers on at least two different occasions
in the past.
In a video shared on Twitter, the man could be seen
striking the statue with his bare hands and damaging its arms and other parts.
The statue, which was unveiled at the 'Mai Jinda' haveli
in Lahore in June 2019, was earlier vandalised by radical Islamists in August
2019 and then again in December last year.
A teenage visitor had broken the arm of the Maharaja's
statue in December 2020. After he was nabbed, he told the police that his
'religious sentiments' were hurt seeing the statue of a Sikh ruler at the fort.
Following last year's incident, the authorities had
closed the enclosure which displays the bronze figure of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
According to the report, the latest vandalisation of the
statue was carried out by a person named Rizwan at the Lahore fort. He was
chanting something in a foreign tongue as he breached the railings around the
statue. He could be seen pulling the parts of the statue in the social media
post. He would break a part, that would fall away and he too, along with it.
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Explained: What is Sharia law, Will Taliban impose this law in Afghanistan as it's set to form govt?Rizwan would stand up gain and breach the railings push and pull until one more piece would fall off.
Rizwan has been apprehended and sent behind bars for
vandalising the statue.
The nine-feet statue is made of cold bronze. It shows the
regal Sikh emperor sitting on a horse, sword in hand, complete in Sikh attire.