Man held for spitting, trying to damage statue of Ambedkar in Hoshiarpur

The incident took place at Ambedkar Chowk near the bus stand here, police said, adding a case was registered.

A man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly spitting on a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, making derogatory remarks, and attempting to damage a replica of the Constitution near the statue, police said.

The accused, Jagdeep Singh Matharu alias Deepak, a resident of Tagore Nagar, allegedly climbed stairs leading to the statue with a cloth wrapped around his head, police said, citing the FIR.

The incident took place at Ambedkar Chowk near the bus stand here, they said, adding a case was registered.

The accused, Jagdeep Singh Matharu alias Deepak, a resident of Tagore Nagar, allegedly climbed stairs leading to the statue with a cloth wrapped around his head, police said, citing the FIR.

Matharu allegedly spat multiple times on the statue, shouted that he came to break it, and claimed he did not accept Dr Ambedkar or the Constitution, the FIR stated.

The man then allegedly took out a metallic needle, which is generally used to tuck hair under turbans, from his cloth and began scraping at the replica of the Constitution, which was made of cement and other construction material, it said.