Karnataka police have arrested four people for the vandalism

BALLARI: Nearly a week after a video surfaced of tourists knocking down a pillar in the Hampi world heritage site, Karnataka police have arrested four people for the vandalism. The arrested youths claimed they were ignorant of the historical significance of the monuments and said they had destroyed the 14th century pillar in “sheer excitement”.

A complaint was filed by Archaeological Survey of India , Ballari, which said the vandalism took place last year. Ballari SP Arun Rangarajan said the men had come to Ballari for a Railway Recruitment Board exam. After the exam, five of them visited Hampi. Three of them toppled a granite pillar at the Vishnu temple while their friend filmed them.

Hampi vandals got threats from groups

The fifth man was reportedly roaming the premises, unaware of what the others were doing.

“With the help of Bihar police, we managed to take three people into custody. We detained one person at Hyderabad and two in Bengaluru,” the SP said. The three youths have been identified as Rajbabu, 21, a labourer at HAL; RA Raja, a BE student in Bengaluru; and Rajesh Chowdhury, 24, also a labourer. The man who filmed the trio, Ayush Shahu, works in Bengaluru in digital marketing. Rajbabu and Chowdhury hail from Madhubani district in Bihar while Shahu is from MP and Raja from Bengaluru.

All four have been remanded in judicial custody.

SP Rangarajan said the youths had confessed to the vandalism. “They were excited on seeing the monuments in Hampi. They claim to have toppled the pillar in sheer excitement. They had no idea how historically significant Hampi is,” the SP said. “All four have been facing a threat to their lives ever since the video went viral. During interrogation, they said they had received threat calls from some groups.”

The Hampi monuments, built during the Vijayanagara empire in the 14th century, span over 10,000-odd acres. The group of 1,600 monuments is a Unesco world heritage site.

Deputy commissioner Dr Ramprasat V Manohar said there was no communication between Unesco and the district administration about the vandalism.

“Unesco has not sought any details about the incident from us,” he said. “Hampi is the pride of our nation and world heritage. Tourists and locals should understand the significance of protecting and conserving the heritage site.”

