A 35-year-old man was detained for allegedly vandalising the statue of the former Prime Miniter Lal Bahadur Shastri in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, said officials. The accused man placed shoes on both shoulders of the bust at the Kushabhau Thakre Auditorium Square in Bhopal.
The incident sparked anger among Congress workers, who organised a protest near the statue and later cleansed the bust with milk. They also lodged a formal complaint about the matter.
Man was intoxicated
Arera Hill police station inspector Manoj Patwa said, "On the complaint of Jahangirabad Congress block committee president Yashwant Yadav, we registered a case under section 298 (defilement of sacred object) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A 35-year-old man has been detained. He has told us he was intoxicated when he committed the act."
As soon as the news of shoes being placed on Lal Bahadur Shastri's statue came to light, Congress leaders created a ruckus and demanded strict action from the administration amid slogans of Lal Bahadur Shastri Amar Rahe. During this time, Youth Congress workers removed shoes from the statue and cleaned it with milk.
Congress leaders, including State Secretary Abdul Nafees, who arrived at the scene, demanded that the administration take strict action against those responsible. They warned that if no action is taken within five days, Congress workers from the Madhya Vidhan Sabha and Youth Congress will take to the streets in protest.
Congress leaders questioned police
Congress leaders also questioned the functioning of the police and district administration. They said that if such an incident could happen near the Police Commissioner's Office, then no one was safe in the city.
Former Union Minister and Congress leader Arun Yadav condemned the act and demanded the state government to take strict action against whoever was found guilty."Putting shoes garland on the statue of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, situated near Kushabhau Thackeray Auditorium (Minto Hall) in the capital Bhopal, is highly condemnable and insulting. I demand from the government that strict action should be taken against the culprits," Yadav posted on X.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the information, the police rushed to the spot and began the investigation into the matter. Patwa said, "We received information that someone has placed shoes on the shoulder of former PM Shastri's statue here. Acting on it, we reached the spot and tried to gather information about the incident. We are checking the CCTV cameras installed nearby the spot and made the informers active to get leads in the matter." He further added that the police were investigating the matter and would soon arrest the accused who did the act.
