Hyderabad: Tensions flared at Bodhan village in Nizamabad district of Telangana over a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The statue was reportedly erected by Shiv Sena at midnight on Saturday, and other groups demanded that it be taken down.
Groups reported to be members of MIM and TRS objected to the statue’s installation. They allegedly fought with the Shiv Sena and BJP members who wanted to keep the statue up.
The situation worsened as the police intervened, and the protestors hurled stones at them. The police opened tear gas at the scene and imposed section 144 to get the situation under control. K.R. Nagaraju, CP of Bodhan, said that the groups who set up the statue said that they had permission, but it was still under process. “We told them to follow the due process and come legally, and we would support them.”
He added that the police opened a lathi charge only after the agitators began pelting stones. He said that they would perform some preventative arrests.
Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri tweeted, “The same crooked mindset..Demolish ours— Accomplish theirs! MIM and TRS goons trying to thwart the unveiling of the statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and destroy the statue set up at Bodhan Ambedkar Chowrasta accepted by a municipal resolution.”
