Now Ambedkar statue vandalised in Uttarakhand

Haridwar: A statue of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar was on Friday found vandalised by miscreants in a village in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, sparking tension, police said.

A district official said the miscreants damaged the statue in Kanhawaali village while it was dark. Inspector Bhagwan Mehar and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kaustubh Mishra visited the spot to pacify protesters, mostly Dalits.

Authorities said the statue of Ambedkar was damaged in the past too, adding that a dispute was on between two villagers over the land on which it had been installed.

Police said the vandalism could be a result of this dispute. "We are trying to trace the miscreants," the official said.