Situation peaceful in Ujjain after clash over Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue

Ujjain: The situation in Makdone tehsil in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district, which witnessed tension over a statue, remained peaceful on Friday, with markets opening and people unfurling the national flag on the occasion of Republic Day.

Members of two communities had clashed and pelted stones at each other after a statue of former deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was pulled down by unidentified persons in the area on Thursday morning.

“The situation in Makdone is peaceful with markets remaining open like any other day. The national flag was unfurled at three places in the town,” Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP-Rural) Nitesh Bhargava said.

Cops are maintaining a vigil in the town, he added.

No injuries were reported in Thursday’s clash. However, it prompted authorities to deploy police personnel in large numbers in the Makdone area, located about 50 km from the district headquarters.

In a video of the incident which went viral on social media, a group of people was seen pulling down the statue with a tractor. They wanted a statue of social reformer and Constitution’s chief architect Dr B R Ambedkar be installed at the site, instead of Patel’s, police sources said.

The statue of Patel was installed at a site close to the Makdone bus stand late Wednesday night, they said.

However, Bhargava told PTI over the phone that they were still trying to find out when the statue was installed.

An investigation is underway into the entire episode after which cases would be registered, he said.

Meanwhile, divisional commissioner Sanjay Goyal suspended in-charge chief municipal officer Sanjay Malviya, while Ujjain Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma suspended Makdone police station in-charge Bhim Singh Devda for alleged negligence.