UP: 12, Including Women, Booked on Attempt to Murder Charges for Resisting Admin's Move to Remove Ambedkar Statue

New Delhi: Statues of social and caste icons continue to be a source of social conflict in Uttar Pradesh after a recent spate of tension over the state government’s decision to remove unauthorised idols of B.R. Ambedkar installed by Dalits in their villages.

After such incidents took place in Jhansi, Lucknow, Sitapur and Aligarh, as reported by The Wire, the installation of a statue of Ambedkar became a source of a clash between villagers and the administration in Siddharthnagar district. Police booked 12 persons, including three women and 30 unidentified others on serious charges including attempt to murder, for allegedly pelting stones and bricks at the police and administrative officials who had gone to Samogara village on April 21 to remove an authorised statue of Ambedkar. 

According to sources, the women had assembled near the statue in a bid to prevent the administration from taking it away. 

The villagers of Samogara got a statue of Ambedkar made with a platform and quietly installed it on the night of April 21. The statue was not authorised. According to a 2008 government order, no idol or statue of any “sant, mahatma or mahapurush” (icons) could be built on any land, even if privately-owned, without the authorisation of the government. According to the order, the person(s) seeking to install a statue would first need to seek permission from the District Magistrate who would be required to carry out a spot inspection and send a report to the state home department. 

On hearing about the statue in Samogara, a team of revenue officials and police personnel reached the village the following day. Chandraprakash Lal, the nayab tehsildar, who lodged the complaint in the case, said that he tried explaining to the villagers that the statue was installed in violation of the existing government orders which stipulate that idols cannot be erected without prior permission.

Also read: In Uttar Pradesh, Dalits Are Being Given Ultimatums to Remove Statues of Ambedkar in Villages

Lal alleged that one of the women present there, Madhuri Gautam, instigated others to pelt stones at the police and the revenue department officials and also attack them with lathis. “They launched a well-planned deadly attack,” said Lal.

He said that one of the stones hit him on his head, following which he lost consciousness. Lekhpal Somendra Kaushik, sub-inspector Ram Pratap Singh and constables Sushil Kumar Yadav, Geetanjali and Kanchan Yadav also got injuries.

The FIR also invoked charges related to rioting, assault or using criminal force against a public servant during the discharge of their duty and voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant in the discharge of their duty, or with the intent to prevent or deter them from doing so.

Mayank Dwivedi, the circle officer of Bansi, under which the village falls, said that a woman leader instigated the people to get violent when the administration was conducting talks with them.

The officer said that the unauthorised statue was respectfully removed from the site.

Samajwadi Party leaders reached the village to condemn the administration’s action of removing Ambedkar’s statue. Former legislator Vijay Paswan said it reflected the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s hypocrisy. “BJP people do all forms of propaganda when Babasaheb jayanti arrives. When it comes to his honour and the honour of Dalits, they cannot tolerate it,” said Paswan.

Another senior SP leader Lalji Yadav said that the administration did not show the same urgency in preventing people from worshipping “gods and goddesses” on their lands.

While Dalits installing Ambedkar statues without authorisation continue to face official resistance, over the last week, Ambedkar statues have been reportedly descerated in Kushinagar, Sonbhadra, and in Ghazipur, where the statue was damaged within 24 hours of being installed.

Social tensions also escalated in Etah district after some miscreants damaged a statue of Kalyan Singh, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, in village Mohanpur on the night of Ambedkar Jayanti. This led to clashes between people of the Jatav (Dalit) and Lodh (OBC) communities. Kalyan Singh was a Lodh and is considered a caste icon by his community. 

Also read: An Ambedkar Statue and a Temple: Why the UP Police was Attacked in an Aligarh Village

The Lodhs blamed the Jatavs for the damage caused to Kalyan Singh’s statue, said sub-inspector Nadeem Ahmad. On April 15, around 50-60 people from the Lodh community, armed with lathis, stood around the statue and accused the Jatavs of damaging it. They were marching towards the Jatav homes when around 50-60 Jatavs also came out of their homes with lathis, the sub-inspector said. 

The two sides threatened each other and started pelting stones and bricks at each other, he added.

An FIR was lodged under charges of intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of public peace and criminal intimidation by threatening to cause death, grievous hurt, destruction of property, or other serious offenses.

Nagina MP and chief of the Azaad Samaj Party, Chandra Shekhar Aazad demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He alleged that Jatavs were being falsely accused in the case.

“There was no dispute in the village till the morning of April 15. The people of the village paid their respects to Baba Saheb with full restraint, faith and constitutional decorum. After this, some people alleged without any proof that the statue of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh ji has been vandalized and the false allegation was directly put on the people of the Dalit community and women, children, and even the elderly were beaten with sticks and stones were pelted on them after entering their homes,” said Aazad.

He also alleged that when his party’s activists contacted the Dalits, they informed them that they were beaten, intimidated and humiliated in the presence of the police and administration. “The saddest and most shameful thing was that the police administration remained a silent spectator during this entire incident. This does not indicate police inaction, but collusion,” said Aazad.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.