Gandhi statue desecrated

By Our Staff Reporter

NIZAMABAD, OCT. 2. Tension prevails in mandal headquarters town of Bheemgal, 50 km from Nizamabad district headquarters, after the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was found desecrated by unidentified persons in the early hours of Tuesday, which incidentally happens to be the 132nd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. The incident took a communal turn after the enraged locals ransacked the pushcarts of fruit vendors, belonging to a minority community.

Information reaching here said some unidentified persons came to the Gandhi statue installed at the Bheemgal centre and broke its pedestal and twisted the statue. Due to this, the statue collapsed and was badly damaged. Some persons, who saw the damaged statue, alerted people and within no time a large number of people gathered at the place. In the meantime, an enraged mob began ransacking the pushcarts and fruits kept on the carts.

People belonging to the minority community also added to the tension. The police swung into action and pacified both groups and posted a police picket to control the mob.

The Superintendent of Police, Dr. Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, said that a letter was left near the statue in the name of the Bheemgal Squad Area Committee secretary, Arun, who is also the Bheemgal town organiser of the banned People's War Group.

The letter written in Telugu on a white paper derided Mahatma Gandhi. While hailing Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi, the letter went on to claim that ``Godse was the prince of India.''

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Section  : Southern States
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