Tension prevailed at Ajith Singh Nagar here after the bust of former MLA Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga near Amba Bhavani temple at Paipula Road junction was found broken on Sunday morning.
Followers of the late leader quickly gathered at the junction and called it an act of vandalism and staged a ‘rasta roko’ demanding that the government punish the culprits as well as replace the sculpture.
Police brought the situation under control and deployed a force to avert gathering of crowds. Son of Mohana Ranga, Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, visited the spot and placed a portrait of Ranga in place of the broken bust and offered tributes.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, Mr. Radhakrishna asked the police to identify the culprits and punish them if it was vandalism. “Police told me that they would verify the CCTV footage to find out what happened. Following their report we would respond,” he said.
Mr. Radhakrishna also warned that serious action would be taken it if was found to be an intentional act and a new sculpture would be placed in the same place.
According to Ajith Singh Nagar police inspector S. Prasada Rao, the incident took place in the wee hours of Sunday.
“We cannot jump to conclusion and call it an intentional act. After careful examination of the way the bust was broken and the time of occurrence, we consider it as an act of mischief by vagabonds, cinema-goers or inebriated persons,” Mr. Rao said.
It was a sculpture made out of Plaster of Paris and would break even if someone slips on it, he added. The remains of the bust were found just behind the two feet base and the wall of the temple.
No power to CCTVs
The high power CCTV cameras installed recently on the traffic island were of no use to identify the miscreants as they stopped recording a day before due to power outage.
“The power supply to the cameras was interrupted and we could not get any other footage that could show what happened to the sculpture. Two teams were formed and a case under Section 427 of IPC was registered following a complaint given by Durga Rao, representative of Ranga Radha Mitra Mandali,” he added.
Police also checked the footage of a sweet store located opposite the temple but in vain. Last year in April, a similar incident took place in Machilipatnam.
