Chandigarh: A statue of Dr B R Ambedkar was vandalised in Nangal village of Punjab’s Jalandhar district by a man who has been caught on CCTV cameras defacing the statue, reigniting tempers in the area.
The incident is of Nangal village, near Jalandhar’s Phillaur town, where another glass-covered statue of Ambedkar was vandalised on March 31, last, too. The banned terror outfit ``Sikhs for Justice’’ (SFJ) has claimed responsibility for both the incidents.
Meanwhile, it may be recalled that Ambedkar’s statue on the Heritage Street leading to Golden Temple, Amritsar, was also vandalised on January 26, last, triggering tension in the area.
The SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in his video posted on social media claimed that the Constitution of India was ``responsible for the attack on Akal Takht (the Supreme temporal seat of Sikhs) during Operation Bluestar in June 1984’’.
Ruing that a similar incident had taken place two months ago too, local Dalit leaders said that the accused was seen in the CCTV camera smearing black ink on Ambedkar’s face, before painting anti-Constitution and pro-Khalistan slogans on the boundary wall of a nearby government school. They demanded the arrest of the accused and strict action against him at the earliest.
Police said that a case under Section 299 (hurting religious sentiments) of BNS has been registered and efforts are on to arrest the accused.
It may be recalled that police had claimed on April 4, last, to have nabbed two persons – Sukhbir Singh and Avtar Singh – for the March 31 incident.
Pertinently, Dalits constitute 32% of the total population – which is about double the national average of 16.6% - and Doaba region which also includes Jalandhar district has a sizable Dalit population.
