Riyadh: Saudi police arrested an Indian immigrant who allegedly disrespected Islams holy Kaaba site on Facebook, covering it with an image of Buddha, a local report said Monday.

“The region’s investigative department were able to capture and arrest a suspect, in his forties and who works in agriculture, who insulted our holy site. He superimposed a picture of the Buddha on the Kaaba and posted on social media,” said a Riyadh police spokesman cited by the Al-Arabiya TV network.

Police were able to identify and arrest the unnamed Indian at a farm in Al Majmaah city in the province of Riyadh, he said.

The Kaaba, an ancient monument at the centre of the Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca, is Islam’s most sacred place. Millions of Muslim pilgrims visit the shrine every year to perform the mandatory hajj. Worshippers are expected to face the Kaaba during the salat, or prayer ritual.

In extreme deference of this Quran-inspired apologue, religious authorities in Saudi Arabia mandate strict restrictions on speech, imposing brutal punishments on any soul who dares to question let alone mock or defile the veneer of (state-enforced) impenetrability surrounding Islamic holy sites.