In a surprising incident, an ancient Buddha statue, which was found in Pakistan’s Takht Bahi area in Mardan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while digging the foundation of a house, was vandalized by local construction workers on Saturday as they considered the relic to be “unIslamic”.

The workers discovered the ancient relic said to be from the Gandhara civilisation. Calling the idol “unIslamic”, the men smashed the statue into pieces. The statue was nearly 1,700 years old, a senior official has said.

Four persons were arrested on Saturday, following the incident. The suspects had followed the orders of a local Maulvi (prayer leader).

The arrests were made after a video went viral on social media showing a man smashing the statue, parts of which were still embedded underground, into pieces with a sledgehammer. Other construction workers can be seen looking on as the statue is being destroyed while a couple of people were making videos.

Director Archeology and Museums Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Abdus Samad Khan said on Sunday that the pieces of the destroyed statue have been recovered to assess its archaeological value.

Samad termed the destruction of the statue a “crime” and said “disrespecting any religion is intolerable”.

He also appreciated the police’s “prompt action” in arresting the suspects.