Rajgruha vandalism: Mumbai Police detain one suspect

The accused had entered Rajgruha from a three-feet high gate, which was open on Tuesday evening. He came bare feet and damaged potted plants and also shattered Rajgruha’s windowpanes with stones.

Mumbai Police has detained a person on Wednesday afternoon in connection with the unsuccessful bid to vandalise Rajgruha, the house of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar that has been converted into a memorial at Dadar’s Hindu Colony in central Mumbai, the previous evening.

Police personnel stand guard outside Rajgruha, Dr BR Ambedkar's residence, after some unidentified people vandalized it on Tuesday evening, at Dadar in Mumbai. (PTI)

“The detained suspect looks similar to the one that was captured on the footage of CCTV (closed-circuit TV) installed at Rajgruha. The suspect is seen damaging potted plants inside the compounds of the house. He is being questioned. He will be arrested, if he is found to be involved in the vandalism bid,” said Viresh Prabhu, additional commissioner of police (ACP), (central region), Mumbai Police.

Mumbai Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against an unidentified person under Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50) and Section 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a complaint lodged by Bhimrao Ambedkar, one of the three grandsons of Dr. Ambedkar.

The accused had entered Rajgruha from a three-feet high gate, which was open on Tuesday evening. He came bare feet and damaged potted plants and also shattered Rajgruha’s windowpanes with stones. However, CCTV cameras were not damaged, a police official said.

The complainant, Bhimrao, had told the police that on Tuesday an unidentified person was spotted loitering around the house. When he was confronted, he ran away. Bhimrao had told the police that the person, who is captured on the CCTV footage, looked similar to the one, who had run away on Tuesday night, ACP Prabhu said.

Rajgruha has a private library of Dr. Ambedkar’s collection of over 50,000 books, his portrait, and ashes, among other artefacts.

Dr. Ambedkar’s daughter-in-law, her three sons Prakash, Bhimrao, and Anadrao live in Rajgruha. However, none of them was present in the house, when the incident occurred on Tuesday evening.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has tweeted that strict action would be taken against the culprits.

Prakash, one of the grandsons of Dr. Ambedkar and the founder of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, in a video message, has appealed to Dr. Ambedkar’s legions of followers to maintain calm and urged them not to gather outside Rajgruha.