February 24, 2019:
Four boys, who were arrested for vandalising a portion of the UNESCO world heritage site in Karnataka’s Hampi have confessed to their crime.
After they were arrested by Bellary police for vandalising pillars at Hampi, the UNESCO world heritage site in Karnataka, four boys have been fined Rs 70,000 each & asked to assist ASI with the restoration.
India is known for its history & its heritage. Our civilisation is thousands of years old. The monuments that dot the landscape of our burgeoning cities are a witness to our heritage & history.
Our heritage is our pride & hence we have to preserve them. It is our national duty to protect & preserve them but these four vandals failed to understand this.
A few weeks earlier a video of four people purposely damaging pillars went viral on social media. After the video went viral locals staged a protest demanding adequate protection for the ancient monuments.
Four boys, who were arrested for vandalising a portion of the UNESCO world heritage site in Karnataka’s Hampi have confessed to their crime. The matter came to light after a video of the vandalism went viral on social media prompting police officials to probe a complaint by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Police officials said that an Instagram post by one of the boys led them to the culprits who are residents of Bihar & Madhya Pradesh. They have now been identified as Ayush Sahu, Rajababu Choudry, Raha Aryan Choudry, & Rajeskumar Choudari. Bellary superintendent of police (SP) Arun Rangarajan told media outlets that a phone number linked to the Instagram account which was used to post a video of the act led them to the boys.
After their arrests on February 8, the boys confessed to vandalising five pillars of the Vishnu temple in Hampi during a visit in January. As a result, the accused were presented before a court of the principal civil judge & JMFC Hospet. They were each fined a sum of Rs 70,000 & directed to participate in the restoration of the pillars which is to be carried out by ASI, reported ANI. The court in its order said that the four accused have been convicted on “pleading guilty/plea bargaining”.
In the video of the act which had gone viral on social media earlier this month, the four boys were seen vandalising & desecrating five pillars outside the Vishnu Temple in Hampi. Hampi in Karnataka is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Hampi, one of the ancient archeological sites in Karnataka has numerous ruined temple complexes of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is believed to have been the country’s richest city & it attracted traders from Persia & Portugal.
However, the negligent attitude towards the scattered ruins beside the big monuments is also shocking, to say the least. As per media reports, Hampi authority officials admit that as they are spread across 29-gram panchayats in an area of 4,100 hectares with no less than 1,600 monuments.
The state government must increase the number of security personnel at Hampi for more efficient protection of the ruins & also train tourist guides on how to advise tourists to behave in the heritage site. If this does not happen fast, future generations will have nothing to do but curse us for turning a blind eye to a treasure trove of history.
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