LAHORE – A worker of a far-right political party was arrested earlier today for vandalising the statue of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Lahore Fort.
The clips of the disgraceful incident are doing rounds on social media in which the vandal, who is allegedly a worker of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, can be seen pulling down the life-size statue of the 19th-century ruler at the Lahore Fort.
In one of the clips, the passersby can be seen getting hold of him after he was spotted wreaking havoc over the sculpture. The attacker, who is identified as Rizwan, first broke off the arm of the statue, and then he pushed the entire figure which later fell from the horse. He can also be heard chanting slogans during the attack.
Later, Lahore CCPO Dogar while speaking with a local news outlet said the young man used a hammer to inflict damage on the statue. Soon after getting informed about the incident, he directed SP to immediately visit the site.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also expressed anger over the vandalism. He directed the Lahore CCPO to submit a report in this regard and order to restore the statue to its original form.
Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry also lamented the act. “Shameful, this bunch of illiterates is really dangerous for Pakistan’s image in the world,” he wrote in a recent tweet.
اس واقعہ کا ملزم گرفتار کر لیا گیا ہے جس کے خلاف سخت کارروائی عمل میں لائی جا رہی ہے pic.twitter.com/76RqkECzlp
— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) August 17, 2021
Let it be known that this is the third attack on the statue of Raja Ranjit within three years. Earlier, two attackers damaged the act with wooden rods. The incident is quite similar to the recent attack as the vandals also chanted slogans demolishing Ranjit’s statue, per reports.
In the second attack in December 2020, a young man, who was later apprehended, broke an arm of the statue made of bronze. He also told law enforcers about the motive behind the attack. Singh was involved in a number of atrocities against Muslims during his era and the statue should be removed as a protest against his violence.
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