Tension in Ghaziabad after Ambedkar statue vandalised

The defiling of a statue of the chief architect of the Indian Constitution and Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar here has led to tension and heavy police presence.

The police said that it received information late on Friday night that the statue at Ambedkar Park in Navyug Market here had been damaged.

After this a heavy police force was deployed around Ambedkar Park which is situated in an area inhabited largely by Dalit families. The situation became more tense when some members of the Dalit community took out a procession and staged a dharna.

The civil administration was apprised of the situation and a new statue of Ambedkar was brought from nearby Sahibabad.

The construction of the platform is now in progress and the new statue is expected to be erected on Sunday.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against unidentified criminals, said Superintendent of Police Salman Taj Patil.

"This is the second defilement of the same statue in two years. The same district magistrate had then assured us that proper security would be provided to the statue," said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Pyare Lal Jatav.

"We warn the district administration that the Dalit community would not tolerate further insult to our mentor," he added.