'Khalistan' groups deface Gandhi statue in Washington

The statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised by protesters supporting farmers in India who are holding rallies against new agriculture laws. 'Khalistan' flags were sighted near the statue in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington.

Washington [US]: The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Washington was defaced and vandalised on Saturday by protestors who are supporting farmers in New Delhi agitating against the recently enacted agricultural laws in India.

According to sources, 'Khalistan' flags were also sighted at the spot when protesters vandalised the Bapu statue located in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington.

Earlier this month in London "Khalistani" flags were seen at a protest held outside the Indian High Commission where protestors raised anti-India and pro-farmer slogans.

The Mahatma's statue in Washington was vandalised earlier this year on June 3 during the George Floyd protests by unknown persons. Post the desecration, an expert was called in to refurbish the Gandhi statue.

The statue was vandalised with graffiti and spray painting, prompting the Indian mission to register a complaint with the local law enforcement agencies. The desecrated statue of Gandhi, the design of which was created by Gautam Pal, was later covered and the site has been cleaned up.

The Indian Embassy in the US had then registered cases with the Metropolitan Police and the National Park police. The matter was reported immediately to the State Department and Deputy Secretary of State had called the Indian ambassador to address the issue. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun had apologised for the incident. Biegun had a month later inaugurated the refurbished Mahatma Gandhi statue along with the Indian envoy to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The statue was dedicated by former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on September 16, 2000, during his state visit to the US, in the presence of the then US president Bill Clinton.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for the last 17 days at the borders of Delhi against three farm laws.

(ANI)