Uttar Pradesh: Tensions erupted over the installation of an Ambedkar statue in Aligarh on Tuesday (January 28) and two policemen were injured in the violence and arson that followed, officials said. Two groups, both laying claim to a patch of land in Bheempur village, clashed after one side began installing a statue of BR Ambedkar. Four two-wheelers were set afire in the incident.
Police have arrested a number of persons, including the village pradhan, her husband and former pradhan of the village, police said. Police said order has now been fully restored at the village and heavy police deployment has been made in that area as a precautionary measure. Fourteen persons have been named in the FIR lodged by the police and another 200 unnamed persons have also been booked.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjiv Suman said that the "matter had apparently been resolved this afternoon when representatives of both groups met senior district officials".
Trouble arose on Tuesday evening when one group started installing an Ambedkar statue on a piece of land, which district authorities said belonged to the gram sabha. The other group is also alleged to have claimed the land to build a statue of another deity.
SSP Suman told reporters that this tussle between two rival groups in the village had been brewing for past few days and district officials had succeeded in defusing the matter two days back after making it clear that "no group had any valid claim over the gram sabha land and no one would be allowed to disturb the status quo by trying to start any construction".
He said that late on Tuesday evening, police received information that some persons had started installing the Ambedkar statue. "When the police started to remove the statue, the crowd started throwing bricks," Suman said.
"The police will not allow anyone to take the law in their hands and strong punitive action will be taken against all those who disturbed the peace," the SSP said, adding that the construction started by both sides has been stopped by the police.