Dalit leaders and activists staged a dharna at Pidimgoyyi village in Rajahmundry rural mandal on Saturday after some miscreants damaged the statue of B.R. Ambedkar and threw it in the nearby bushes.
According to East Zone DSP Asma Farheen and in-charge RDO Radhakrishna, the incident took place in the wee hours and the police had received a complaint in the morning from TDP SC Cell State secretary Kasi Naveen Kumar and others. Mr. Naveen sought immediate arrest of accused and a probe into the incident.
According to preliminary probe by the police, there was a Sivalayam on 5.16 acres that was given to the Dalits by the government long ago. Recently members from two other communities tried to renovate the temple, which did not go well with a section of the Dalits, who said their consent was not taken.
Meanwhile, some Dalits installed an Ambedkar statue on the premises, which was damaged by miscreants and thrown into the bushes. The DSP pressed a CLUES team and a dog squad into service and booked a case.
The RDO assured that the government would install a new statue in place of the damaged one and settle the issue. However, Mr. Naveen said if the police failed to nab the accused within three days, he would intensify the agitation.
Dalit leaders agitate, Revenue, Police officials pacify them
