The statue was erected at Punjagutta early on Saturday without obtaining clearance from the GHMC. Pictures of the damaged structure being carried from Yousufguda to the Jawaharnagar dump yard in a garbage truck went viral and evoked strong reactions from all quarters.

The Ambedkar Statue Protection Committee — which installed the structure — led by G Vinod Kumar, staged a protest against its removal at the site near the Punjagutta junction. As a precautionary measure, the police detained at least eight persons, including Kumar.

The damaged statue, meanwhile, was taken to the Yousufguda Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy indoor stadium.

Officials say it got damaged while being transported, but members of the association claim it got damaged as it fell off the vehicle.

The Indian New Indian express quoted Kumar saying that they sought permission from the government to erect the statue at the Punjagutta junction, near the statue of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. In the absence of a response, the association went ahead and installed the statue on Saturday.

“The GHMC and Hyderabad police have humiliated Dr BR Amedkar on his birth anniversary by removing the statue and throwing it in the dump yard. We will intensify our stir till the government responds to the incident,” Kumar warned.

The incident left both the GHMC and police embarrassed, and GHMC Commissioner Dana Kishore expressed “deep regret over the unfortunate incident”.

He suspended the Yousufguda yard operator Balaji for shifting the statue from Yousufguda to the Jawaharnagar dumping yard without permission from higher officials.

A senior IAS officer has been entrusted with the inquiry into the incident..

The Jawaharnagar police registered a case under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, following a complaint by the Telangana State Mala Mahanadu president.

The Telangana SC, ST Commission has sought a comprehensive report from the GHMC commissioner Hyderabad police commissioner.

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org/
 

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The April 2 shootout
On April 2, police allegedly opened fire on Dalit protesters who were holding an  agitation against the dilution of the SC/ST Act. The protest turned violent when protesters allegedly started vandalising Khairthal police station. Khairthal is a town and municipality in Kishangarh Bas Tahsil of Alwar district. 27 year old Pawan Kumar Jatav was a part of the group of agitating Dalits. He was killed in the firing and his friends and family blame the local Station House Officer (SHO). Jatav’s family had initially refused to take his body and only relented after they were promised a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a job for his widow by the district administration. His father had also alleged police harassment after Pawan’s death.

Mevani welcomed with Sec 144
Mevani arrived with a fact finding team comprising Nikhil Dey, Kailash Meena, Rashid Hussein, Navin Narayan, Sanjay Madhav, Gaurav, Kamal Tank, Rahul, Anwar Haque, Dharmendra and others to ascertain whether the police acted with impunity and brutality to crush a Dalit uprising. Early on Sunday morning Jagdish Prasad Gaud, the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Neem Ka Thana issued a circular ordering the imposition of Section 144 categorically stating that Jignesh Mevani’s presence in the state could prove to be problematic and lead to a law and order problem.

The circular says, “It has been learnt from special sources that MLA Jignesh Mevani and PUCL’s Kavita Shrivastav are planning to hold a meeting of people belonging to various SC and ST communities. Bearing this in mind along with the previous violence in the region on April 2, we fear a law and order problem.”

It goes on to impose Sec 144 that prevents assembly of people in groups from 6am to mid-night on Sunday May 13. The entire circular may be viewed here:

Mevani meets Dalit Families
However, this did not stop Mevani from either meeting Dalit families or finding out more about instances of police brutality. A widow Kailash Devi narrated how the police physically assaulted her. “They beat me with lathis. They were not female police personnel. All were men. One of them put a gun to my jaw and a boot to my chest and only let me go when I begged for my children’s life,” she told Mevani.  

Speaking to media persons, Mevani accused the police of lodging false cases against Dalits and incarcerating them. He also accused the state government of suppressing the Dalit community. “There were no extraordinary circumstances to warrant police firing. But their attitude is such that they view Dalit lives as less valuable and therefore expendable,” said Mevani. 
Mevani also garlanded a statue of Dr B.R Ambedkar in full public view in defiance of the prohibitory orders. Here are a few pictures from Mevani’s visit.

Interestingly, on his last visit to the state Mevani had been turned away from the airport itself. This shows how the newly minted independent MLA is already a thorn in the side of the powerful ruling disposition.
 

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Photos: Two Circles.

Violence started after the Thakur community of Shimlana village took out a procession march to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, and it moved towards a Dalit dominated village Shabbirpur.

At Shabbirpur, residents raised objection and as a result of that a verbal spat started between the two groups. The whole argument led to spark of violence which was supported by stone pelting and burning of private as well as public properties. After a Dalit woman was hit badly by the stone, the Dalit community also started stone pelting. Things turned out more ugly and Thakurs allegedly broke Ravidas temple and a statue of Ambedkar.

During the altercation, a stone hit 25-year-old Sumit, s/o Dharmpal, on the head and he was declared dead when taken to the hospital.

When the news of the death reached the clash site, members of Thakur community set ablaze 25 houses of the Dalit community.

Moreover, the police was also targeted this time the mob. A fire engine was broke down and three police vehicles were set on fire.
 

Chaman Singh Chavda, CO Deoband, also got injured when he intervened in the matter. Violence came to a halt after District Magistrate NP Singh and SSP Subhash Dubey reached the spot with security forces from adjoining districts.SSP Dubey said, “The situation is tense but in control. To maintain the peace is our priority.”

Earlier on April 20, situation in Saharanpur got communally tense when Saharanpur MP from BJP Ram Lakhan Pal Sharma tried to take out a procession March in remembrance of Dr. BR Ambedkar without permission from the government.

Sharma’s brother Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma started beating police personnel while Ram Lakhanpal Sharma started shouting on police to shoot Muslims. FIR was lodged against both of them.

The post Saharanpur Up in Flames: One Dead, Thakurs Burn Down 25 Dalit Homes appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Some anti-social elements damaged the four feet tall statue of Ambedkar by throwing stones at it, said Circle Officer Paramhans Mishra.

Protesting against the incident, an angry mob blocked traffic on the main road for over an hour prompting the administration to deploy additional police force.

Senior administrative and police officials also rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control and pacified the protesters by assuring action against those involved.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons.
 

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