Mahatma Gandhi’s statue vandalised

Washington, June 4: Unknown miscreants have vandalised the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian embassy in the US with graffiti and spray painting, prompting the mission to register a complaint with the local law enforcement agencies.

Vandalism of the statue of the apostle of peace happened during the week of nationwide protests against the custodial killing of AfricanAmerican George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

The incident is reported to have taken place on the intervening night of June 2 and 3, officials said. The Indian embassy has informed the State Department and registered a complaint with local law enforcement agencies, which are now conducting an investigation into the incident.

On Wednesday, a team of officials from Metropolitan Police in consultation with the Diplomatic Security Service and National Park Police visited the site and are conducting inquiries. Efforts are on to clean up the site at the earliest.

US Ambassador to India Ken Juster on Thursday apologised for the desecration of Mahatma Gandhi's statute outside the Indian embassy in the US capital. “So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Washington, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better,” Juster tweeted.