GHAZIABAD: Amid high security in the early hours of Tuesday, police removed a life-size statue of BR Ambedkar at the
Ghaziabad court compound that had been installed hours ago by the district's bar association.
The administration contended the statue was installed illegally, without the requisite permissions, and hence it was removed. The move was resisted by a group of lawyers who were present at the spot. Later, in the morning, the lawyers staged a protest.
An FIR was lodged against 17 people, including the bar association's president Rakesh
Tyagi Kakra, under section 447 (criminal trespassing) of the
IPC and sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Before the administration removed the statue, it had fortified the area in and around court compound . "Given the emotive nature of the issue, we did not want to leave anything to chance, so cops from 16 police stations and from nearby districts of Noida and
Hapur were summoned while senior officials from police and administration kept an eye on things," said Ghaziabad police chief Hari Narayan Singh.
Bar association members alleged police manhandled a dozen of its members who were guarding the statue and snatched their mobile phones. Terming the action 'unwanted', Tyagi said, "The administration has made this trivial issue big and now we demand the statute be re-installed with dignity at the earliest. We had agreed that we will cover the statue till we get permission but that was not accepted by the administration, which acted in the dead of the night to uproot the statue. It has hurt the sentiments of Ambedkar's followers," said Tyagi.
The bar association has called for suspension of work on Wednesday in protest .
