Ambedkar statues damaged in Firozabad and Etah districts in UP

Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, April 5

Despite a high alert across Uttar Pradesh following the Dalit protests on Monday, two more statues of the Father of the Indian Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar have been vandalised in Etah and Firozabad districts of the state.

The police and district administration have rushed to the spot after protesters started gathering on the streets.

The Ambedkar statue vandalising spree goes unabated despite Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s stern warning last week not to spare the guilty and instructions to the district magistrates and police chiefs to intensify vigil around Ambedkar statues across the state.

In Etah, the Ambedkar statue at Shivsinghpur has been desecrated. Anti-social elements have damaged the thumb of the statue.

The police and district administration reached the spot to pacify the angry crowds.

In Firozabad district’s Sirsaganj town, in Nagla Nande area, miscreants vandalised another statue of Ambedkar.

As soon as news of the defiling of the statue spread, a large number of villagers and BSP workers reached the spot.

Incidentally, imprisoned Samajwadi party MLA Hariom Yadav, who was not allowed to vote during the Rajya Sabha election, belongs to this area.

The Firozabad district administration is arranging for another statue from Shikohabad to replace the mutilated statute.

Cases have been registered against unknown persons in both the places for vandalising the statues.

Similarly, on March 31 statues of Ambedkar were vandalised in Allahabad and Siddharth Nagar districts and on April 1 once again in Hathras district.