Dalit bodies held massive protests in Amritsar on Monday against an attempt to vandalise a life-size statue of B.R. Ambedkar by a man on Republic Day, while Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserted that exemplary punishment will be ensured in the matter. Police on Sunday arrested Akash Singh, a resident of Dharamkot in Punjab's Moga district, for allegedly attempting to damage the Ambedkar statue at the Town Hall on Heritage Street that leads to the Golden Temple.
A video clip purportedly of the incident went viral on social media, in which the man is seen climbing atop the statue using a steel ladder and carrying a hammer. He is seen hitting the statue multiple times with the hammer. The man also caused damage to the Constitution book, which is part of the statue. He was later apprehended and handed over to police.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said an FIR has been lodged under relevant legal provisions, including sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and 324 (mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Harmit Singh, who knows the family of Akash Singh, said he had gone to Dubai three years ago for work.He was not in touch with his family, said Harmit Singh, who is also a resident of Dharamkot.
Akash Singh returned to India two-three months ago and started living in Amritsar, he said. Meanwhile, members of Dalit communities held protests in Amritsar against the incident. A complete "bandh" was observed in the city because of the protest call given by Dalit bodies. The protesters forced shopkeepers to down shutters. Educational institutions were also forced to shut.
The protests were organised by the Balmiki Samaj and supported by various political outfits. Sant Baba Malkit Nath, leader of the Balmiki Samaj, requested the state government to ensure exemplary punishment for the accused. A massive protest was held at the busy Bhandari Bridge area, where anti- government slogans were also raised. Heavy police security was deployed in the city.
Mann said exemplary punishment will be ensured for the accused. Describing the incident as unfortunate and tragic, the chief minister said it has bruised the psyche of everyone who respect Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution. Requesting people to exercise restraint, he said no one will be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace in the state and that evil designs of anti-Punjab forces to cause communal strife will be nipped in the bud.
His government is fully vigilant and committed to crushing the nefarious designs of anti-social and anti-national elements who try to create unrest in Punjab, Mann said in a statement. Bhullar said the mobile phone of the accused is under scrutiny. Special police teams are questioning the man, the commissioner said, adding that the probe is being conducted in a scientific manner.
"I assure everyone that a fair investigation will be done," he said. Preliminary questioning of the accused has revealed that he belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, Bhullar said. On the ladder used by the accused to climb up the statue, he said it was already lying there as the members of an organisation had held a programme.
The ladder was not removed after the programme and it was misused by the accused, the commissioner said, adding that this aspect would also be investigated. Meanwhile, Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and former state minister Raj Kumar Verma washed the statue with milk on Monday.
Aujla condemned the incident and claimed that the accused had even tried to set the statue on fire. The incident took place when the entire country was celebrating the 76th Republic Day, he pointed out. Aujla said the Punjab government should consider the seriousness of the incident and ensure exemplary punishment for the accused.
The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from all political parties. "Strongly condemn the desecration of the architect of Indian Constitution Baba Sahib Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkarji's statue at Heritage Street, Amritsar. We won't let anyone disrupt Punjab's communal harmony and perpetrators will face severe punishment," the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Punjab unit chief Aman Arora said in a post on X.
Opposition leaders condemned the incident as well, with some of them claiming that there could be a "deep-rooted" conspiracy behind it. Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring was among those who said there could be a "deep-rooted" conspiracy behind the incident. "There should be a high-level probe," the member of Parliament added.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Chugh said the culprit should be given strict punishment and the conspiracy needs to be unearthed. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the incident and demanded a thorough inquiry to unravel the "conspiracy" behind it.
"Strongly condemn the attempt to desecrate Dr B R Ambedkarji's statue at Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib on Republic Day. This heinous act has hurt the sentiments of millions. I demand stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to unravel the conspiracy behind this shameful incident. Let's stand united against such vile attempts to create divisions in our society," Badal said in a post on X.�
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