KOLKATA: Red ink was thrown at a statue of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in West Bengal's East Bardhaman district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident of vandalism that took place in Bardhaman's Katwa came to light on Wednesday morning.
"A full-size stone statue of Lenin at Katwa's Lenin Sarani crossing, was allegedly smeared with red ink by unidentified miscreants. Attempts were also made to vandalise the statue. No one has been arrested in the incident," an officer from Katwa police station said.
"It is possible that the statue was attacked on Tuesday night. We have cordoned the area and posted guards so that no such incidents recurs," he said.
Local left workers accused "anti-communist forces" for the vandalism and said Lenin's ideals cannot be suppressed like this while the local Trinamool Congress leadership has put the blame on BJP.
The saffron party, however, refuted the allegation.
The Lenin statue was erected by the Katwa municipality in 1982.
The incident took place more than a month after a bust of 18th century Bengali social reformer Iswarchandra Vidyasagar was vandalised inside a Kolkata college, causing the political temperature to soar across the state.
In March 2018, A five-ft-tall statue of Lenin was demolished by a payloader at Belonia in South Tripura allegedly by a group of BJP workers after the saffron party won the state assembly elections there toppling the left government.