Grave of Haripur saint desecrated

Locals say unidentified men dug up the site looking for hidden treasure

HARIPUR:

The grave of a local saint, Shaheed Baba in Haripur was desecrated by some unidentified suspects, locals said on Monday.

The incident left residents of Kala Khatha Pahar village in shock and fear with rumours circulating about the incident. The local police, though, are ignorant about the incident.

The shrine of Shaheed Baba is located in the mountainous area of Kala Khatha Pahar in the Haripur district. It mostly draws locals and some people from adjoining areas of the district who visit the site to pay their respects.

On Monday, locals arrived to find the shrine vandalised and the grave desecrated with even the remains of the saint missing.

One of the possible reasons behind the desecration, locals suggested, was that there was a legend associated with the grave that treasure may have been buried there during the Sikh era.

Many locals are convinced that since no traces of the saint’s remains were found from the grave, it proved that treasure was buried there and the suspects have taken it away. Hazara was considered to be a stronghold of the Sikh community before the partition. The Haripur district is also named after a Sikh army general Hari Singh Nalwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2020.