8 held for vandalising Heritage Street statues, main accused on the run
AMRITSAR : Eight men were arrested on Wednesday for vandalising statues of folk dancers on Heritage Street that leads to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The accused managed to break the marble panels of the platform on which the bronze statues are mounted.
Those arrested have been identified as Ravinder Singh of Ganaur village in Nawanshahr; Maninder Singh and Harwinder Singh of Rupnagar; Gursewak Singh of Hussanpur village in Batala; Ranjit Singh of Chabhal village and Amarbir Singh of Manjh village in Tarn Taran; and Rajbir Singh and Harkawal Singh Amritsar.
Police have identified Amrit Singh of Moga as an absconding accused and are searching for him. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), investigation, Jagmohan Singh said: “The main accused, Amrit Singh, is the president of a self-styled organisation ‘Kaum De Rakhe’.”
The incident took place around 1.30am on Wednesday when the eight men started breaking the platform on which the statues are raised. A police team in the vicinity reached the spot and stopped them.
The video of the incident had also gone viral on social media in which some men, attired in Nihang ‘banas’ (the dress usually covers the top half of the body down to knees), are seen vandalising the statues with hammers.
A team of policemen is also seen stopping the accused in the video.
In the morning, a team of officials of the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) and public works department (PWD) reached the spot. PHTPB general manager Tejinder Singh said they were yet to access the total damage.