Mob Attacks UP Police Over Removal Of Illegal Ambedkar Statue In Aligarh: Four Policemen Injured, FIR Filed Against 14

Four policemen sustained injuries, and at least six police vehicles were set on fire as violence broke out in Bhimpura-Ibrahimpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district on Tuesday (29 January) evening, reported The Indian Express. 

The unrest stemmed from the removal of a B R Ambedkar statue, which was allegedly installed illegally on Gram Sabha land, officials said.

As police personnel proceeded with the removal, a mob attacked them with stone pelting, setting police jeeps and bikes ablaze. 

In response, the police fired bullets in the air, used tear gas shells, and baton-charged the crowd to control the situation.

Following the incident, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at Roravar police station, leading to the arrest of Gram Pradhan Asha Lodhi, her husband Nirdesh Lodhi, and former village head Chatarpal. 

"The situation is under control now. A heavy deployment of police force has been made to ensure peace. We will arrest those involved in Tuesday’s incident," said Sanjeev Suman, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Aligarh, quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

He added that the villagers involved in the attack had fled, and efforts were underway to track them down.

The conflict arose as the Ambedkar statue was erected on vacant Gram Sabha land on 25 January, while members of the Baghel community—a Backward Class group in Uttar Pradesh—claimed another vacant plot for a temple construction, police stated. 

While the temple’s boundary wall was demolished after mutual dialogue, supporters of the statue refused to remove it, leading to violence, according to Superintendent of Police Mrigank Shekhar Pathak.