Amid statue vandalism spree, another BR Ambedkar's sculptor damaged in Ballia

ANI photo

BENGALURU: In yet another incident of statue defacing and vandalism, a sculptor of the Father of Indian Constitution, B R Ambedkar was damaged by unidentified miscreants in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia.

According to Inspector of Rasra Police Station, Jagdish Chandra Yadav, the incident took place at around 2 am.

Ballia: A statue of Dr BR Ambedkar vandalised by unidentified miscreants in Rasra's Sardaspur Village, statue later repaired by police and a new statue installed in its place, case registered. pic.twitter.com/HDrrGmSTO3 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 18, 2018

One of the hands of the statue was found damaged in Sardaspur village following which a case has been registered against unidentified persons. 

The statue was later repaired by police and a new statue has been installed in its place. Meanwhile, policemen have been deployed at the spot. 

Despite strong words by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and clear directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there has been no end to the incidents of vandalism of statues of iconic leaders and ideologues.

Several incidents of statue vandalism of famous personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi, Syama Prasad Mukherjee, E V Ramasamy Periyar and Vladimir Lenin, have been reported from various parts of the country over the last few months.

Earlier this month, the Uttar Pradesh Home Department had directed the state police to ensure the security of the statues of famous figures in the state. The police would monitor and ensure the security of the statues of famous personalities in the state, principal secretary of Home Department Arvind Kumar had said.

In addition, the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Om Prakash Singh had written a letter to Superintendents of Police (SPs) of all districts regarding the issue and asked them to work in ensuring the statues' security.

Statues B R Ambedkar have always been targeted along with the other eminent figures. His statues have been vandalised in places across the country including Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, Bhind's Kheria Village of Madhya Pradesh and in Rajasthan's Achrol.

Reports of incidents of vandalism of statues started pouring in soon after the results of the Assembly elections in Tripura were declared. Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Left bastion, a mob demolished a statue of Communist ideologue Vladimir Lenin in Tripura.

These incidents have sparked a war of words between political parties as well. PM Modi, however, had recently made an appeal to people to not indulge in the vandalism of statues. Following this, the Union Home Ministry had issued a directive to states to ensure that no such incidents take place.

(With inputs from PTI)