Eight men were arrested on Wednesday for trying to vandalise statues of folk dancers on Heritage Street that leads to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The accused managed to break the marble panels of the platform on which the bronze statues are mounted.
Those arrested have been identified as Ravinder Singh of Ganaur village in Nawanshahr; Maninder Singh and Harwinder Singh of Rupnagar; Gursewak Singh of Hussanpur village in Batala; Ranjit Singh of Chabhal village and Amarbir Singh of Manjh village in Tarn Taran; and Rajbir Singh and Harkawal Singh Amritsar. Police have identified Amrit Singh of Moga as an absconding accused and are searching for him.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), investigation, Jagmohan Singh said: “The main accused, Amrit Singh, is the president of a self-styled organisation ‘Kaum De Rakhe’.”
The incident took place around 1.30am on Wednesday when the eight men started breaking the platform on which the statues are raised. A police team in the vicinity reached the spot and stopped them.
The video of the incident had also gone viral on social media in which some men, attired in Nihang ‘banas’ (the dress usually covers the top half of the body down to knees), are seen vandalising the statues with hammers. A team of policemen is also seen stopping the accused in the video.
{{/usCountry}}The video of the incident had also gone viral on social media in which some men, attired in Nihang ‘banas’ (the dress usually covers the top half of the body down to knees), are seen vandalising the statues with hammers. A team of policemen is also seen stopping the accused in the video.
{{/usCountry}}In the morning, a team of officials of the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) and public works department (PWD) reached the spot. PHTPB general manager Tejinder Singh said they were yet to access the total damage.
Additional deputy commissioner of police Harjit Singh said the accused even attacked the police team. He said they have also recovered the hammers used for damaging the marble.
They have been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder); 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot); 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions); 434 (mischief by destroying or moving); 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon); and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Activists of Sikh organisations — Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee and Jatha Himmat-e-Khalsa — have been protesting against the statues demanding their removal from the Heritage Street. They want Sikh historic statues instead of the folk dancers.
Later, activists of both the organisations held a protest against registration of a case against the accused.
Satkar Committee Amritsar’s president Balbir Singh Muchal said: “Those who tried to vandalise the statues don’t belong to our organisations, but we support their action.”
He said: “It was the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s fault as it failed to set up Sikh historic statues instead of the dancing sculptures. We even submitted a memorandum to the Amritsar administration against the move, but to no avail. There should be only Sikh historic statues on the way leading to the Golden Temple.”