Violence in UP's Bhadohi after police try to remove illegally installed Ambedkar statue

A group of people on Saturday pelted stones at police personnel when they tried to remove a statue of B R Ambedkar that was allegedly illegally installed overnight, leaving two cops injured, a senior official said.

Circle Officer (CO) Bhubaneshwar Kumar Pandey said police used "minor force" to disperse the violent crowd in the Bhadohi police station area.

A total of 11 people, including three women, were arrested on the spot, the police said.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Kotwali police station Ajay Seth said a case has been registered against 51 persons, including 21 named persons, in this connection under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC.

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Pandey said the Ambedkar statue was installed on a platform on Friday night on the land designated for a pond in Mushilatpur village in the city Kotwali area.

The CO said on receiving a complaint, senior police and administrative officials reached the spot and asked the locals to remove the statue but they resisted.

When the officials tried to remove the statue, the crowd indulged in stone pelting, forcing the police to use lathi-charge to disperse the protesters.

The injured personnel were taken to hospital, he said.

Tension prevailed in the area and additional police force has been deployed to maintain law and order, the CO said, adding that efforts are on to arrest the others involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, officials have kept the statue at the police station.