ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: A man belonging to an extremist religious group was arrested in Lahore on Tuesday for vandalizing the statue of Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Lahore Fort.
Lahore police said the suspect, identified as Rizwan, was arrested hours after the statue was damaged. Police confirmed that he was a follower of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), an ultra-conservative Islamist group known for mass protests against any changes to Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
“The accused damaged the idol with a hammer, which has been recovered from his possession,” said Lahore’s senior police officer Ghulam Muhammad Dogar. He said that strict action would be taken.
New Delhi condemned the vandalism. “Incidents of violence against minority communities, including attacks on their places of worship, their cultural heritage, as well as their personal property, are increasing at an alarming rate. It was only 12 days ago that a mob attacked a Hindu temple. attacked and defiled him. Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan,” My “The Pakistani state has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks. It is creating an atmosphere of fear for the minority communities to practice their faith,” the spokesperson said in New Delhi. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, “The vandalism of the statue of the great unifier of India Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji in Lahore must be strongly condemned. This act of attempting to erase the shared history of the subcontinent shows how extremist The ideologues feel buoyant in our volatile neighborhood.”
In a video shared on social media, the accused can be seen damaging the idol and chanting “Labbaik ya Rasool-Allah (Here I am at your service, Messenger of Allah)”. Before he could do further damage to the idol, a visitor pushed him away.
This is the third time that the statue has been vandalized since its unveiling on the emperor’s 180th death anniversary at the Lahore Fort on June 28, 2019. It is located in Mai Jindan Haveli, which is named after the youngest queen of Ranjit Singh. In December 2020, a young man broke the hand of the Maharaja’s idol, while in August 2019, two men attacked him with a wooden rod.
NS Sikh Heritage FoundationThe project, headed by Sikh historian, writer and filmmaker Bobby Singh Bansal, was funded. The idol was sculpted by local artists under the auspices of Fakir Khana Museum. It took eight months to complete the eight-foot-tall statue of the Maharaja sitting on his favorite horse Kahar Bahar, which was presented to him by Amir Dost Muhammad Khan, the then ruler of Afghanistan.
(With inputs from Delhi Bureau)
Lahore police said the suspect, identified as Rizwan, was arrested hours after the statue was damaged. Police confirmed that he was a follower of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), an ultra-conservative Islamist group known for mass protests against any changes to Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
“The accused damaged the idol with a hammer, which has been recovered from his possession,” said Lahore’s senior police officer Ghulam Muhammad Dogar. He said that strict action would be taken.
New Delhi condemned the vandalism. “Incidents of violence against minority communities, including attacks on their places of worship, their cultural heritage, as well as their personal property, are increasing at an alarming rate. It was only 12 days ago that a mob attacked a Hindu temple. attacked and defiled him. Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan,” My “The Pakistani state has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks. It is creating an atmosphere of fear for the minority communities to practice their faith,” the spokesperson said in New Delhi. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, “The vandalism of the statue of the great unifier of India Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji in Lahore must be strongly condemned. This act of attempting to erase the shared history of the subcontinent shows how extremist The ideologues feel buoyant in our volatile neighborhood.”
In a video shared on social media, the accused can be seen damaging the idol and chanting “Labbaik ya Rasool-Allah (Here I am at your service, Messenger of Allah)”. Before he could do further damage to the idol, a visitor pushed him away.
This is the third time that the statue has been vandalized since its unveiling on the emperor’s 180th death anniversary at the Lahore Fort on June 28, 2019. It is located in Mai Jindan Haveli, which is named after the youngest queen of Ranjit Singh. In December 2020, a young man broke the hand of the Maharaja’s idol, while in August 2019, two men attacked him with a wooden rod.
NS Sikh Heritage FoundationThe project, headed by Sikh historian, writer and filmmaker Bobby Singh Bansal, was funded. The idol was sculpted by local artists under the auspices of Fakir Khana Museum. It took eight months to complete the eight-foot-tall statue of the Maharaja sitting on his favorite horse Kahar Bahar, which was presented to him by Amir Dost Muhammad Khan, the then ruler of Afghanistan.
(With inputs from Delhi Bureau)
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