Kanshi Ram statue in Ambedkar Bhawan vandalised, 9 booked

A group of unidentified persons vandalised the statue of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram on Ambedkar Bhawan premises in Gurgaon’s Sector 4 area on Tuesday.

A group of unidentified persons vandalised the statue of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram on Ambedkar Bhawan premises in Gurgaon’s Sector 4 area on Tuesday.

A CCTV grab of the statue of Kanshi Ram after it was vandalised by masked men on Tuesday.

The police have booked as many as nine persons including two named in the FIR for the incident.

The incident caught in CCTV shows four masked men entering the premises, one of them vandalising the statue of Kanshi Ram with a sledge hammer while three others guarded the gate. The statue of Kanshi Ram lying next to BR Ambedkar and Gauta Buddha was installed on the Ambedkar premises in March last year.

Based on the complaint filed by Jai Bhagwan, caretaker of the Ambedkar Bhawan, police at Sector 5 police station has lodged an FIR against nine people. This include seven unidentified people under Sections 120b (criminal conspiracy) 427 (mischief causing damage), 506 (criminal conspiracy) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Those named in the FIR are Santalal Jotriwal and Deepchand Shivcharan.

“We have booked nine people in the case. The investigation is on,” said assistant sub-inspector Umeed Singh, the investigating officer.

The incident annoyed the members of the dalit community in the area who have asked the police and administration authorities to nab those responsible for the incident failing which a state-wide stir would be launched.

Sources said that a section of locals in the area is not happy with the installation of Kanshi Ram’s statue on the premises. The vandalism, they said, was the result of the disagreement.

Saheb Kanshi Ram was a social reformer who worked for the uplifting and political mobilisation of the bahujans and dalits.