More Ambedkar statues vandalised in UP

Within days after large-scale violence in the state during the 'Bharat Bandh'  which claimed two lives, two statues of Dalit icon B.R.Ambedkar were vandalised in separate districts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday triggering tension.

According to the police sources here, the statues of the Dalit icon were vandalised in Etah and Ferozabad districts of the central UP region.

The damage to the statues triggered tension in the area, Dalits in large number gathered around vandalised statues and raised slogans demanding action against the culprits.

Additional security personnel were rushed to both the places to maintain law and order. ''We are trying to trace the culprits,'' said a senior police official here on Thursday.

The officials said that new statues were being installed in both places.

As many as nine statues of Ambedkar has been vandalised in the past few days in different parts of the state. Earlier the statues had been damaged in Aligarh, Deoria, Ghazipur, Agra and Azamgarh districts.

Sources said that security had been beefed up around the statues of Dalit icons in different parts of the state following the incidents.

The Opposition Congress, SP and BSP have accused the BJP government in the state of not doing enough to safeguard the statues and held the saffron party responsible for the acts.

The BJP, on the other hand, alleged that it was part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the saffron party and portray it as ''anti-Dalit''.