SC/ST Commission asks govt to probe desecration of Ambedkar

Taking suo motu cognisance of the alleged desecration of B R Ambedkar's statue here, the SC/ST Commission today asked the Punjab government to conduct a high-level probe in the incident, and sent officials to inspect the damage done to the sculpture.
Punjab state SC/ST Commission Chairman Rajesh Bagga, who visited the site of the incident, told reporters that he had asked the state government to conduct a high-level probe into the matter and ensure security of the statues of all icons.
The incident had yesterday triggered off protests by members of the Dalit community here.
Bagga said, "The act is a planned conspiracy to vitiate peace by triggering casteist/communal strife in Punjab which has the highest SC population in India and especially in Doaba region, which has the highest SC population in the state."

"Blasphemous pictures of Guru Ravi Das at certain places in Punjab in the past and the yesterday's vandalism of Bharat Ratna Ambedkar's statue point towards conspiracy," he said, alleging that there was a sudden spurt in the number of such incidents.
Bagga mooted the idea of preparing a list of the statues of icons installed at different places in Punjab and set up area vigil committees with government's help.

In a meeting with administrative and police officials here, he asked them to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
Phagwara DSP Manpreet Singh Dhillon said five senior officers were probing the incident and the culprits would soon be arrested.

He also met Dalit leaders, including Punjab Ambedkar Sena Mool Nivasi President Harbhajan Suman and area councillor Om Parkash Bittu.