‘Treasure hunters’ dig up graveyard in Haripur

Desecrate burial sites in search of relics, artefacts

HARIPUR:

A gang of treasure seekers are believed to be behind the desecration of graves in a graveyard in Haripur’s Babu Mohallah, it emerged on Monday.

Locals told The Express Tribune that such gangs operate at night with the use of advanced detection equipment to search for treasures and artefacts underground.

They said it was not an isolated incident, with ancient burial sites throughout the district dug up. One local said that the group first conducts reconnaissance at the location followed by excavations and digging late at night. Similar incidents have been reported from various locales in Hazara, particularly Khanpur, Ghazi, Serikot, and Haripur, they said.

Read 12 ‘treasure-hunters’ held for desecrating shrine

They said that ancient sites and shrines were also targetted by these gangs, who have been emboldened by the impunity they enjoy.

An elder of the Babu Muhallah, the area where the graveyard was desecrated, told The Express Tribune that there were several people who had been arrested and fined in the past for engaging in similar activities.

In the ongoing year alone, authorities arrested five individuals over alleged grave desecration for the purpose of treasure hunting, he said. “But they were never convicted.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2023.