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1 held for vandalism at Dr Ambedkar’s house
Matunga police on Wednesday detained one person in connection with the vandalism at Rajgruh, the residence of Dr BR Ambedkar in Dadar.
Matunga police on Wednesday detained one person in connection with the vandalism at Rajgruh, the residence of Dr BR Ambedkar in Dadar.
On Tuesday evening, at around 6pm, someone trespassed into the Rajgruha compound and caused minor damage to the property. A complaint was filed by Bhimrao Ambedkar, one of Dr Ambedkar’s three grandsons. State home minister Anil Deshmukh immediately ordered an inquiry and the police detained one person on Wednesday afternoon.
“The detained suspect looks similar to the one whose image was captured in the CCTV installed at the house, while he was damaging the plants in the compound of the house. We are questioning the suspect. He will be arrested if his involvement is found,” said Viresh Prabhu, additional commissioner of police (central region).
The city police have already registered a first information report (FIR) against an unidentified person under section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code.
The accused, who was barefoot, entered Rajgruh premises through a three-foot-high gate which was unlocked. He damaged potted plants and broke some window panes when he threw stones at them. No CCTV cameras were damaged, a senior police official said.
This is the second time that an unidentified person has been seen loitering around Rajgruha, according to the complainant Bhimrao. On July 6, Bhimrao had seen someone who ran away when confronted. Bhimrao had told police that the person caught on camera resembled the man he’d seen earlier, Prabhu said.
The heritage structure of Rajgruha has a museum, Dr Ambedkar’s library of more than 50,000 books, and a memorial on the ground floor. Dr Ambedkar’s family live in other parts of the bungalow.
Soon after the incident, a crowd of approximately 200 reached Rajgruh and were eventually dispersed by the police. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader, Prakash Ambedkar in a video statement appealed to followers of Ambedkar to remain calm and maintain peace.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray described the incident as shocking. “Rajgruh is a revered place not just for followers of Dr Ambedkar, but for all communities. We will not tolerate anyone insulting Rajgruh and I have ordered the police to take strict action,” Thackeray said on Wednesday.
Leaders from other political parties also expressed their shock at the incident, including housing minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad, who went to Rajgruh to meet the Ambedkar family members on Wednesday morning, on instructions from NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
The former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis also spoke to Bhimrao after the incident.
Bhimrao appealed to everyone to observe restraint and has demanded police security. “It will be better if a police guard is stationed here to protect the books,” he said. Police security has been assigned to Rajgruh since Tuesday evening.
With inputs from Naresh Kamath
