FIR lodged for 'dishonouring' Priest King at Mohenjo Daro

Case registered after photo of three visitors dishonouring the sculpture at archaeological site goes viral

KARACHI:

Police on Sunday lodged a first information report (FIR) against unknown persons who tried to dishonour the statue of Priest King at a site of Mohenjo Daro – one of the largest settlements of ancient Indus Valley Civilisation.

The case was registered by Airport Police Station in Mohenjo Daro on the complaint of the watchman of the archaeological site.

"The case has been registered under Section 295-A which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs," a duty officer at the police station said.

The case was registered following a photo that went viral on social media in which three visitors were spotted dishonouring the statue of Priest King, an iconic representation of Indus civilisation that is placed at the entrance of the site.

Read more: Heritage ignored: With no flights, Mohenjo Daro at risk of being forgotten

"We are tracing the people who are involved in this cheap act and have disgraced the statue," the duty officer said.

There was an outcry on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and people belonging to different walks of life condemned the act demanding action against the culprits.

Soon after the incident, many people in Sindh replaced their profile pictures on Facebook and Twitter with Mohenjo Daro or Priest King’s photo for showing sympathy.