AMRITSAR (TIP): Land grabbers in Pakistan have completely brought down the front portion of the haveli of “Sher-e-Punjab” Maharaja Ranjit Singh situated in Gujranwala, historian Surinder Kochhar said. Earlier, Pakistan government had converted a portion Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s ancestral haveli into a garbage dump. Maharja Ranjit Singh was born in this haveli, the lower floor of which was being used as a police station for long after the partition.

Expressing differences with the recent statement of minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur,who had claimed that the haveli was safe, Kochhar said that he obtained a photograph of the haveli from his acquaintance in Gujranwala on Monday morning which revealed the present condition. He said that the process of razing the haveli had started on instigation of a Member National Assembly of Muslim League in January 2012. He said that Pakistani government had removed the garbage dump but had started using the place as a parking area. He said that many locals use the haveli as a gambling den which was seen in the photograph. He appealed the government to take a swift action and save the haveli.