Amritsar: A day after a statue of BR Ambedkar on Heritage Sreet near Sri Harmadir Sahib in Amritsar was attempted to be vandalised with a hammer on Republic Day on Sunday by a person who was caught by the locals and subsequently handed over to the police, the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab government came at the receiving end of public anger.
Transfer of Police Commissioner
Seeing the growing anger of the people, a major administrative reshuffle has been made. The government has transferred Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and, in his place, the new Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal has been appointed. He was the Police Commissioner of Ludhiana.
The Dalit community has organized a bandh in Amritsar today. Several police posts in Amritsar have also been attacked.
On the other hand, opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said, "This incident is not new in the Mann government as many such cases have come to the fore earlier. Sometimes smuggling happens on the border, sometimes bomb blasts occur here and there, which the government tries to portray in different versions."
With the rising instances of gunfires, it is clear that the government has completely failed to maintain the law and order situation in the state, leading to an erosion in public trust. Such incidents are happening at the behest of the government which will be exposed soon, he added.
Congress MP Gurjit Aujla also took a dig at the government and said the incident was a clear attempt to defame the father of the Constitution. "Looking at this, it can be clearly said that it is the failure of the Punjab government that such incidents are happening. Despite such a big incident, a cabinet meeting was not called, which is unfortunate. The Mann government considers Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Bhim Rao Ambedkar as idols. But, today, there is no answer to this cowardice act," Aujla said.
Meanwhile, Mann said strict action would be taken against the person who tried to damage the Ambedkar statue.
ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੀ ਹੈਰੀਟੇਜ ਸਟ੍ਰੀਟ ਵਿਖੇ ਬਾਬਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਭੀਮ ਰਾਓ ਅੰਬੇਡਕਰ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਮੂਰਤੀ ਨੂੰ ਤੋੜਨ ਦੀ ਘਟਨਾ ਬੇਹੱਦ ਨਿੰਦਣਯੋਗ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਘਟਨਾ ਲਈ ਬਖ਼ਸ਼ਿਆ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ। ਘਟਨਾ ਨੂੰ ਅੰਜਾਮ ਦੇਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਭਾਵੇਂ ਕੋਈ ਵੀ ਹੋਵੇ, ਉਸਨੂੰ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਤੋਂ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਮਿਲੇਗੀ। ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਕ ਸਾਂਝ ਤੋੜਣ ਦੀ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ…
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) January 27, 2025
"The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Sahib Bhim Rao Ambedkar Ji at Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be spared for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident will be punished severely. No one will be allowed to break the communal harmony of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate this and take strict action against the culprits," he wrote on X.
The accused climbed the statue on a ladder and started hitting it abruptly with a hammer which caught the attention of the locals who caught him and handed him over to the police who arrested him later. The incident led to a protest by the Dalit community.
It is learnt that the youth is a resident of Dharamkot in Moga and he has been booked under the relevant sections. The police have yet to reveal his motive behind the act.
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