Lucknow: Villagers pelt cops with stones over Ambedkar statue in Bakshi Ka Talab
The site where the statue was installed is reportedly used by the villagers for various purposes, including makeshift markets and wedding ceremonies
Some civilians and cops were injured when locals in large numbers in Bakshi Ka Talab’s Khantari village in Uttar Pradesh capital on Saturday afternoon allegedly resorted to stone pelting over removal of Dr BR Ambedkar (1891-1956)’s statue installed on the government land, police said.
“There has been a dispute over the installation of Babasaheb’s statue. Talks are going on between the two sides to resolve the issue. Some people have opposed the installation of the statue,” said DCP (North), Lucknow, Gopal Krishan Choudhary.
“There is no exact figure yet as to how many people have been injured, but some policemen and some civilians have been injured,” Choudhary added.
“We got information that Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue has been installed and some people are opposing it. Adequate police force has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident. The situation is normal at present,” he added. Talks were also held between the local MLA and the people, the cop said.
On getting information, SDM, Bakshi Ka Talab, Satish Chandra Tripathi reached the spot along with PAC and police personnel from several police stations.
The police fired five rounds of tear gas shells in air to control the situation. Meanwhile, the police have detained Virendra Rawat, the husband of gram pradhan of Khantari village, in connection with the incident.
A large contingent of police force was rushed to the village to control the situation. As per reports, the statue was installed in front of a primary school on gram samaj land on Thursday night. On Friday, two groups in the village had a dispute over the installation of the statue.
BJP MLA from BKT Yogesh Shukla also reached the spot and interacted with locals to resolve the dispute. “We want the issue to be resolved peacefully. There was no permission to place the statue. We cannot break the system,” said Shukla.
“I want that the statue should be kept and the wishes of the villagers should be fulfilled and this should be kept according to the law written by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar”, he added.
On Saturday afternoon, a section of villagers raised objection. After getting information, cops reached there and tried to pacify the villagers who had installed the statue. However, the situation took a serious turn when the agitated villagers allegedly pelted cops with stones.
The villagers opposing the installation alleged that the statue was installed on the gram samaj land on the gram pradhan’s proposal in the night without consulting the villagers.
The site where the statue was installed is reportedly used by the villagers for various purposes, including makeshift markets and wedding ceremonies.
On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of villagers staged a sit-in at the Phadarpur crossing, demanding removal of the statue. When cops arrived to remove the statue, the villagers resisted and the situation escalated into violence.
The administration said installing a statue without permission is a violation of the law and cannot be allowed. The villagers, however, argued that the statue was a matter of their faith and that removing it was not acceptable.
