Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue vandalised in Lahore

A statue of 19th-century ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore in Pakistan was vandalised by unidentified men on Friday (December 11). According to reports, the miscreants were reportedly upset over speeches of a few radicals in Pakistan.

The nine-foot-tall statue of Singh, who died in 1839, was unveiled in June on his 180th death anniversary. The statue, made of cold bronze, shows the emperor sitting on a horse, and carrying a sword. Popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled over the Sikh empire in the Punjab region in the early half of the 19th century.

Following the incident, local police arrested a teenager, identified as Zaheer, a resident of Harbanspura, Lahore in Pakistan. As per sources, he, along with his companions, disfigured the statue, installed at Royal Fort in Lahore.