Mahatma Gandhi bust torched in MP

Bhopal: Unidentified miscreants on Tuesday morning set ablaze Mahatma Gandhi’s bust in a Madhya Pradesh town, sparking tension in the area.

The incident took place in the sub-divisional headquarters of Joura in Morena district. According to the police, some mischief mongers put a linen scarf around the neck of the bust and set it on fire.

The morning walkers spotted the “disfigured” bust and informed the cops. “The bust was made of stone. Hence, no damage could be done to the sculpture. But, the plastic specs fixed in the bust caught fire and have melted. We have restored the bust in the original form”, said Morena district superintendent of police Aditya Pratap Singh. A case has been registered under section 295 (injuring or defiling any place of worship or any object held sacred by any class with the intent to insult the religion or any class) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons, cops added.  Soon after the incident, people took out a silent march in the town and later sat on dharna near the statue in the park demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

This was the second such incident in the area in the past couple of years.

Earlier, unidentified miscreants robbed the bust of its specs, leading the local administration to put plastic specs in the sculpture.