A carved stone pillar at the UNESCO world heritage site at Hampi in Karnataka was allegedly damaged by miscreants and a video of it has gone viral.
The clip shows three men pushing the artistically carved stone pillar to the ground, following which it breaks and the trio rejoice.
Other damaged pillars are also shown lying around, but it was not immediately clear whether the men had damaged it.
Following the incident, state Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar said stringent action would be taken against those responsible.
In a statement, Shivakumar, also the district in-charge Minister of Ballari under which Hampi falls, said he has directed police to trace the culprits and initiate action. "We will not tolerate any such act of causing damage to historical sites," he said.
The local police have launched probe, but the video appears to be one year old, an NDTV report cited Ballari district police as saying.
According to the report, cybercrime police have been tasked to look into the issue, and they are verifying the authenticity of the video.
Meanwhile, locals staged a protest, demanding adequate security for protection of the monuments.
Recently, the erstwhile capital of Vijayanagar empire- Hampi- known for its rich architecture, was listed second on the New York Times list of 52 must-go sites in the world.
(With inputs from PTI and NDTV)
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