Hoshiarpur: A statue of B R Ambedkar standing on top of a building in Noorpur Jattan village here was vandalised, allegedly at the order of a Khalistani leader, police on Wednesday said.
Both hands of the statue were found damaged, Station House Officer, Mahilpur police station, Inspector Gagandeep Singh said.
A case has been registered on the complaint of Kulwant Singh Bhuno, a native of Bhuno village in the Chabbewal, and general secretary of Ambedkar Sena of India.
According to the FIR, Kulwant said he got to know about the vandalism through a video which made rounds on social media.
Pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice claimed responsibility for the vandalism on social media.
The statue is situated on a piece of land belonging to the family of Bakshi Ram of Noorpur Jattan and is maintained by some prominent families of the village.
Hoshiarpur Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Dr Mukesh Kumar said an FIR under sections 298 (injuring or defiling a place of worship) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at Mahilpur Police Station against Pannun and some unidentified persons.
Bahujan Samaj Party Punjab chief and former Rajya Sabha member Avtar Singh Karimpuri condemned the incident.
The BSP leader warned that if the culprits are not arrested within seven days, the party will launch a protest in Garhshankar.
The party also demanded that the Punjab government provide a security cover for Ambedkar's statues.
On May 25, in an area under the Model Town Police Station jurisdiction, a statue of Ambedkar was spat at and a replica of the Constitution near Ambedkar Chowk, was damaged. A man was arrested in connection with the incident then.
In Phillaur of Jalandhar district on June 2, another statue of the country's first law minister and Dalit icon was vandalised.
Disclaimer: This is a syndicated feed. The article is not edited by the FPJ editorial team.
