Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh's statue vandalised in Lahore

A statue of the former Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh, was vandalised by two miscreants at Shahi Qila here over the weekend.

Syed Ghazanfar Shah, the Superintendent of Police (SP) told Dawn that the attackers were motivated "on the basis of religious biases."

One of the two men pretended to have a disability and carried a wooden stick in order to support himself. The other person allegedly helped him walk into the fort when it was routinely opened for visitors on Saturday.

The two went straight up to the statue, which was unveiled very recently in June, and started attacking it. One of the sculpture's arms were amongst the parts which sustained damage.

They were immediately captured by the security guards and handed over to the police. They could also be heard chanting slogans against the former ruler of Punjab. A case was registered against the duo at the complaint of the Walled City Authority.

Shah added that the two claimed to be the reincarnations of Mahmud of Ghazni. The miscreants also alleged that erecting statues was against their religious beliefs and threatened to repeat their actions if the statue is not removed.

The nine-feet tall structure in cold bronze was unveiled at the Lahore Fort on June 27 to mark the former ruler's 180th death anniversary.