Members of two communities clashed and pelted stones at each other after a statue of former deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was pulled down by unidentified persons in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district on Thursday morning, officials said.
No injuries were reported in the clash.
The police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the Makdone area, located about 50km from the district headquarters, where the incident took place, while two senior officers were suspended for alleged negligence, they said.
In a video of the incident which went viral on social media, a group of people was seen pulling down the statue with a tractor.
They wanted that a statue of social reformer and Constitution's chief architect Dr B R Ambedkar be installed at the site, instead of Patel's, police sources said.
The statue of Patel was installed at a site close to the Makdone bus stand late Wednesday night, they said.
However, additional superintendent of police (Rural) Nitesh Bhargav told PTI over phone that they were still trying to find out when the statue was installed. -- PTI