Hyderabad: A statue of social reformer Jyotirao Phule was vandalised in broad daylight in Tellapur village of Telangana’s Sangareddy district on Friday, February 6.
A video of the vandalism shows members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) damaging the statue.
On information, police reached the spot and diffused the situation.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Kollur SHO Ganesh Patel said that 20 people have been arrested under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
“Jyotirao Phule’s statue was installed two days ago. The issue arose as the statue was located in proximity to a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which was installed ten days earlier,” the SHO said.
The officer denied that the arrested members are affiliated with a political party.
Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad termed the vandalism a “cowardly and criminal act.”
In an X post, he urged the Telangana government to immediately replace the damaged statue with a grand and dignified one.
“The brazen daytime attack on the statue of Rashtrapita Jyotiba Phule Ji—the pioneer of social and educational revolution—in the presence of law and order custodians is not only cowardly and criminal, but also a direct assault on the sentiments of millions of followers and the society that holds faith in humanist ideology,” read his X post.
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