Protest after Ambedkar statue found damaged in Firozabad
AGRA: Resentment gripped a village in Tundla area of Firozabad district on Wednesday morning after a statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was found damaged.
The locals blocked the road, demanding action against the culprit and replacement of the statue.
Tundla police reached the spot swiftly and the administration got the damaged statue replaced.
The incident took place in Nagla Jhamman village of Firozabad district on Wednesday morning, when a finger of the statue was found damaged. To protest the incident, angry residents placed wooden logs to block the road connecting Rasoolabad with Nagla Balia in Firozabad.
“A case has been registered at Tundla police station under sections 295 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified accused,” said police sources, adding hunt was on to trace the culprit.
“The finger tip of the statue was damaged but the entire statue was replaced by the afternoon,” they said, claiming that the situation in the village was normal.
A similar incident took place in Sirsaganj area of Firozabad last week.
There have been over half a dozen incidents of vandalising of the statues of Ambedkar in various parts of Uttar Pradesh over the past one month.
Only a day ago, the state police had sounded an alert across Uttar Pradesh for possible attempts to damage statues of the dalit stalwart ahead of his birth anniversary on April 14.
Ambedkar statues were recently vandalised in Meerut, Badaun, Saharanpur, Firozabad and Bulandshahr in March, triggering angry protests from the opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP).