GUNTUR: Clashes broke out at Pedda Itakalapadu in Ponnur mandal of Guntur district on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday after a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar was found smeared with black paint and ash. Additional police personnel were rushed to the village to prevent any further fights. According to Ponnur Rural sub inspector Sk N Basha, both groups lodged complaints against each other.
Maddu Ravindra and a few others lodged a plaint against some people accusing them of defacing the statue and badmouthing their caste. They demanded that a case be registered against the accused under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Meanwhile, the accused persons complained that they were preparing for a 40-day prayer for Sk Moulali who died after Ravindra and others attacked them by pelting stones at their houses.