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Nagpur tense but peaceful following desecration of Ambedkar's statue

The situation in Dalit-dominated localities of south Nagpur was tense but peaceful last night in the wake of the desecration of a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar at Trisharan Chowk in Bhimnagar.

The police have intensified patrolling and were keeping a close watch on the situation, Police commissioner P K B Chakraborty said.

The statue was found with a garland of chappals around its neck yesterday morning, and news of the statue's defilement brought hordes of followers of Dr Ambedkar to Trisharan Chowk, who raised slogans and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits. Top police officers, including Chakraborty, rushed to the area to restore calm and prevent any untoward incidents.

Republican Party of India corporator Kishore Gajbhiye removed the offending garland in the presence of police officers, thus defusing the tension.

Chakraborty said barring some stone-pelting at Baidyanath Chowk, the city was incident-free throughout the day. He appreciated the help of Gajbhiye and other RPI activists in pacifying the agitated Dalits.

The police commissioner said he had directed the Crime Branch to investigate into the matter and bring the culprits to book, and that an offence against unknown persons has been registered by the police.

Briefing newsmen about the incident, Deputy Police commissioner B J Kangale said some persons had recently erected a statue of Gautama Buddha while some others had built a temple of Mahakali on the vacant plot of the Nagpur Improvement Trust in the area, leading to some tension in the area. Following the intervention of the authorities, the Mahakali temple was demolished but the Buddha statue continued to be there as per the understanding reached with the authorities.

This dispute appeared to be the cause of the trouble, Kangale added.

Meanwhile, local RPI leaders W K Ganar, and Jagdish Thool condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of the culprits.

In Bombay, however, 17 people were detained in stone-pelting incidents while protesting against the desecration.

According to police sources, around 250 people had indulged in a rasta roko in Siddharth Colony, R C Marg and Chembur Naka to protest against the desecration. In the stone-pelting that ensued, window panes of two buses and one municipal van were damaged.

The Chembur police detained 17 people in this connection and later released them.

UNI

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