LAHORE: Unidentified men vandalised a nine-feet tall statue of  ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore in on Friday. According to reports, the miscreants were reportedly upset over speeches of a few radicals in Pakistan. The statue of  19th-century ruler Ranjit Singh, who died in 1839, was unveiled in June on his 180th death anniversary. 

After the incident, local police arrested a teenager, identified as Zaheer. The accused is identified as a resident of Harbanspura, Lahore in Pakistan. As per sources, he, along with his companions, disfigured the statue, installed at Royal Fort in Lahore.  The statue was made of cold bronze, shows the Singh 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. The statue has been sculpted by local artists under the guidance of the Fakir Khana Museum. 

The statue was vandalised by two miscreants, Adnan Mughal and Asad in August 2019. According to reports, they were upset with the Indian government's decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

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