ALLAHABAD/LUCKNOW: Just three days after the
Uttar Pradesh government issued orders to include ‘Ramji’ as Bhimrao Ambedkar’s middle name, two statues of the Dalit icon were found desecrated in Allahabad and Siddharthnagar districts on Saturday morning.
In Allahabad’s
Jhusi town, unidentified miscreants dismembered the statue’s head, while a statue’s hand was broken at Gohaniyaraj village in Siddharthnagar. The vandalizations come days after the UP government issued orders to include ‘Ramji’ as Bhimrao Ambedkar’s middle name.
Taking serious note of the incidents, chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered all district magistrates, SSPs and SPs to take speedy and stringent action against the culprits and ensure that such incidents do not occur again.
In Allahabad, senior officials including SP (trans-Ganga) SK Singh rushed to the spot and called in additional forces from other police stations after locals and political leaders started arriving. The Ambedkar statue vandalised in Allahabad on Saturday
District officials rush to replace statues
Phulpur MP Nagendra Singh Patel and SP’s district
president Krishnamurti Yadav staged a protest and accused the administration of laxity. BSP district president RK Gautam also joined the protest.
The SP told TOI, “A case has been lodged against unidentified persons in this connection. Two teams have been constituted to arrest the accused.” BSP district president Guatam said, “The administration has brought a new statue from Varanasi which would be installed.” In Siddharthnagar, locals staged a protest at Gauhaniyaraj village in Domariyaganj tehsil on noticing the vandalism. Senior police and administrative officials rushed to the spot and pacified the agitators.
Siddharthnagar SP Dharamveer Singh said, “A case has been registered against unidentified people. The idol is being replaced.” BJP MLA from Domariyaganj, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, accused SP and BSP of hatching a conspiracy ahead of CM Yogi’s scheduled visit on April 2. “Some people want to disturb harmony. SP and BSP are hatching conspiracy.”
The Ambedkar statue vandalised in Allahabad on Saturday.
