LAHORE: The statue of 19th-century ruler Raja Ranjit Singh, located near his grave at Lahore’s Royal Fort, was vandalized, a year after it was first damaged.
Following the incident, the district police arrested a teenager, identified as Zaheer, a resident of Lahore’s Harbanspura. The young man allegedly broke the arm of the Maharaja’s statue.
Commenting on the incident, the fort’s security guard informed that the man had suddenly jumped over the barrier to reach Singh’s statue. The attacker, reportedly exclaiming “why has the statue been installed in the fort”, proceeded to damage the sculpture.
After the suspect broke the arm of the statue, the security guards caught him and handed him over to the police.
The bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was unveiled in June last year at Lahore fort near Haveli Maharani Jindan, on the 180th death anniversary of him. Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839.
Last year in August, two men had allegedly vandalised the statue. Both men went straight to the statue and started hitting it with wooden rods, resulting in the breakage of one of its arms.
Security guards rushed to the spot and captured the attackers who were chanting slogans against the former ruler of Punjab. Later, the attackers were handed over to the police.
