Jorhat, Nov. 10: A group of miscreants today dug up a historical monument in the chief minster?s home town.

According to witnesses, unidentified men entered the graveyard of the last Ahom king, Purnananda Singha and his son Kameswar Singha, and dug earth from the monument. The group, suspected to be residents of the adjoining colony of alleged illegal migrants, left the spot when local people raised an alarm.

?I noticed four to five persons entering the maidam (as Ahom kings? graveyards are popularly known) and digging up the place. As there was no male member in my house at that time, I immediately called up the police station,? said Nilima Baruah, whose house is located opposite the monument.

However, Baruah said the response of the police was disappointing. ?I was told by the police to raise an alarm in the neighbourhood to catch the culprits,? said Baruah.

The miscreants fled as local residents gathered at the site. The miscreants fled towards the colony just behind the Jorhat Kabarstan, in the Raja maidam area.

Ashwini Barooah, another resident of the area, said this was not new. ?Illegal migrants use red earth from the maidam compound quiet often to polish their houses,? said Barooah.

Both Jorhat deputy commissioner J.S. Rao, and superintendent of police Surendra Kumar said they were not aware of the incident and would look into the matter.

?The incident shows lack of conservation efforts from the authorities concerned to preserve these monuments,? a descendent of the Ahom royal family, Ajit Narayan Singha, said.Singha, who is a noted columnist and the mouzadar of Jorhat town, said the government should take the matter seriously and bring the culprits to book.

The local unit of AASU has demanded a thorough probe into the incident.