Protests in Ghaziabad over damage to Ambedkar statue

GHAZIABAD - Ghaziabad was tense Monday morning as residents of this town adjacent to the national capital held a demonstration protesting the desecration of a statue of B.R. Ambedkar, police said.

A statue of Ambedkar installed in Lathmar colony, comprising largely of Scheduled Castes, was found damaged Monday morning. The statue’s right arm was missing and was found lying quite a distance away, said police officer R.K. Gautam.

After seeing the damaged statue, residents of the area staged a demonstration and attempted to block traffic on the highway. The police, however, cooled their tempers and, on the instructions of the district magistrate, assured them that a new statue of the Dalit icon would be installed.

“After receiving the information we visited the spot, controlled the mob and invited them to come for a meeting with the district magistrate,” Gautam said.

The district magistrate has called a meeting of the residents at the collectorate, he added.