Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has strongly condemned the desecration of Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar and has assured strong action against the guilty. In a post on X on Monday, CM Mann said that no one will be spared and strong action will be taken.
A man on January 26 evening vandalised the statue on Heritage Street near the Golden Temple complex. He was arrested soon after a video went viral. According to the police, the accused belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. The accused used a hammer to deface the statue and burnt the stone-carved Constitution book in front of the statue by lighting inflammable material on it. He used a ladder to reach the statue's top.
The police said the motive behind the incident is yet to be ascertained. Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said a first information report (FIR) has been registered and the accused was arrested.
Further investigation is underway.
CM Mann in his post said that no one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab.
He wrote on X (in Punbaji), "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Sahib Bhim Rao Ambedkar Ji at Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be spared for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, will be punished severely. No one will be allowed to break the communal harmony of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate this and take strict action against the culprits..."
On Monday, the members of Dalit bodies made a call for Amritsar shutdown to protest the vandalising of the iconic statue of B.R. Ambedkar on the evening of Republic Day.
They have demanded strict action against the accused, who was arrested by the police.
Responding to the incident, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said, “This act is an attack on the values of our Constitution and equality. The accused has been arrested, and the Punjab government will ensure strict action against him.”
Amritsar Ambedkar statue controversy
At first, the man set the constitution book made of stone below Ambedkar's statue on fire. Then he climbed to the shoulders of the statue with the help of a ladder, taking a big hammer in his hand. Standing there, he hit the statue multiple times. During this time, there was a lot of hustle and bustle on Heritage Street. When people saw the youth doing all this, they asked him to come down. At first, he argued with the people for a while and refused to come down, but then he somehow agreed. He dropped the hammer from the top.
When the man came down, he was caught by two security guards. During this, he also tried to free himself but failed. When the guards caught him and started taking him towards the police station, the crowd also started walking with them. Then suddenly an unknown person from the crowd slapped the youth.
(Inputs: IANS)