BR Ambedkar's statue vandalised in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, case filed

In yet another incident of vandalism, a statue of Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar was desecrated in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The Uttar Pradesh Police has registered an FIR against several unknown people.

The statue installed in Ambedkar park in front of the district magistrate's office was desecrated on Friday afternoon, leading to protests by some locals, SP (city) Kamlesh Bahadur said.

The police have said it'll try to install a new statue in place of the vandalised one. A hunt is on to find the culprits.

According to the police, "We have registered an FIR against unknown persons. We're trying to identify the culprit. Strict action will be taken. We'll also see if it's possible to establish a new statue'."

This is not the first incident of vandalism of Ambedkar's statue.

Earlier in June, a statue of Ambedkar was found damaged in Kothiya village of Ballia in Uttar Pradesh. As the news spread, the administration swung into action and got the statue repaired. An FIR has been registered against unidentified persons in connection with the incident, SHO, Nagra, Ram Dinesh Tiwari said.

In another incident in April, a statue of Ambedkar, which was rebuild after vandalising in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh and painted saffron, went for another colour change. The statue was painted blue by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Himendra Gautam. A video of the statue being painted under the supervision of the BSP leader was also released by news agency ANI.

The statue was vandalised on April 7 by unidentified miscreants in Dugraiya village in Kunwargaon area of Badaun. It led to protests in the area and the administration replaced it in haste with another status of Ambedkar brought in from Agra.