4 cops injured as violence breaks out in UP village over Ambedkar statue

Violence erupted in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district late Tuesday evening over the removal of a B R Ambedkar statue that had been allegedly illegally placed on a property, injuring four police officers and burning at least six police vehicles. 

The incident occurred at Bhimpura-Ibrahimpur village. While a mob showered stones at the police team that dismantled the statue and set fire to police jeeps and bikes, officers shot bullets into the air, lobbed tear gas shells and baton-charged the crowd, according to officials.

A First Information Report was filed at Roravar police station late Tuesday night, and three people, including Gram Pradhan Asha Lodhi, her husband Nirdesh Lodhi, and former village head Chatarpal, were arrested, according to police.

Fourteen known people and 150-200 unidentified people were arrested for attacking the police team and committing arson, according to police, Indian Express reported.

“The situation is under control now. A heavy deployment of police force has been made to ensure peace. We will arrest those involved in Tuesday’s incident,” Sanjeev Suman, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Aligarh, said.

“The statue of Dr Ambedkar was installed illegally on land owned by the Gram Sabha. We asked the locals to remove it but they refused and instead attacked the police. We have arrested three people and raids are being conducted to nab the others. The villagers have fled,” SSP Suman added.

According to the police, two Gram Sabha-owned plots were vacant in the village. While villagers put an Ambedkar statue in one of the plots on January 25, members of the Baghel group, an Other Backward Class community in Uttar Pradesh, raised a boundary wall on the other plot and claimed that a temple would be built inside, according to police.

“We tried to resolve the contentious issue through mutual dialogue following which the temple proponents agreed. We razed the boundary wall but those backing the statue refused to remove it. They engaged in stone pelting and arson after the police removed the statue,” said Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, Superintendent of Police, Aligarh.