Protests erupt in UP districts after desecration of two Ambedkar statues

Police said the statue is being replaced and a case has been lodged against unidentified persons.

Statues of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar were found desecrated at Allahabad’s Trivenipuram locality and Siddhartnagar’s Gohaniya village here on Saturday morning.

BR Ambedkar’s desecrated statue in Siddhartnagar. (HT Photo)

The incidents triggered protests by locals, who demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

In Lucknow, the chief minister’s office said the incidents were serious and Yogi Adityanath has already issued instructions to district magistrates and district police chiefs to ensure that action is taken against miscreants and damaged statues are replaced immediately. “Take tough action against those responsible for the vandalism of statues and make all possible efforts to maintain communal harmony,” the CM office quoted Yogi Adityanath.

In Allahabad, police said the head of Ambedkar’s statue at a park in Trivenipuram was found detached from the bust early in the morning.

They suspect the incident took place late on Friday night. Enraged BSP and SP workers staged a demonstration in the park, demanding action.

Patel alleged that the BJP was politicising Ambedkar by renaming him but had failed in ensuring security of his statues in the state. Later, SP workers also staged a demonstration at Subhash Crossing in Civil Lines.

Manoj Gutam, founder Dr Ambedkar Navyuvak Samiti that had erected the statue on April 14 last year, informed the police and the SDM after he noticed its broken right arm.