Police deployment and security arrangements were amped up in a village in Jewar after a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar was found vandalised on Wednesday. The incident led to tension in the area and an FIR was registered against unknown suspects, said officials.
According to SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida), the incident took place in Jewar’s Neemkana village. Police received information about the incident at around 9 am.
“Police force was already deployed around all public statues of Dr BR Ambedkar in Greater Noida since Ambedkar Jayanti was observed on April 14. However, the statue that was found vandalised on Wednesday is located inside the property of a local villager. Since it was a private property, police force could not be deployed there. Certain miscreants took advantage of that and vandalised the statue at night,” said Khan.
The statue was unveiled in April 2001 by the-then Lok Sabha MP Ashok Pradhan.
“The law-and-order situation is under control. An FIR has been registered at Jewar police station following a complaint by locals,” Khan said, adding that work has begun to reinstall the statue.
The FIR was registered against unidentified persons under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier on April 14, the Gautam Budh Nagar police had booked around 10 people under charges of rioting and inciting violence on Ambedkar Jayanti. Among these, three men and two juveniles were detained in Greater Noida’s Jarcha area for attempting to disrupt peace during a rally on Ambedkar Jayanti. In Rabupura area, five people were arrested for tearing posters and banners of Dr BR Ambedkar.