BENGALURU: It’s been more than six months since a bust of B R Ambedkar mysteriously appeared in the middle of the night near the City Market Police Station.
Based on a complaint by the BBMP, the police tracked down the people who put up the bust and even the accused are out on bail.
But the BBMP is yet to move the bust. This inaction has resulted in a blame game, made worse by the fact that the bust stands today, in the middle of a pile of garbage, as the site was being used to park BBMP’s garbage tippers.
According to the police, their role in the issue was complete.
“While filing the complaint they informed us that they were going to remove the bust and sought our security, but till today they have not approached us for it,” a police officer from the City Market Police Station said.
But BBMP officials allege that the police did not respond when they asked for security.
In December, the civic agency had even accused the police of failing to stop the installation as the location was so close to the station.
For visitors who pass by the area daily, the sight of a statue of the architect of the Constitution, sitting amid a growing pile of garbage has generated much anger.
Ganesh, who regularly visits the market for shopping, said, “It is disrespectful to Dr Ambedkar, the concerned officials should remove the bust at the earliest.”
According to the police, the three-feet tall bust, installed on a six-feet-high podium, came up on December 5 and Guna, 27, a fruit vendor was identified as the leader of the gang.
The police zeroed in on him with the help of mobile tower data of all who were present in the area that night.
After Guna’s arrest, the rest of the gang, including two women surrendered.
They told the police that they wanted to form a Sangha (trust) in Ambedkar’s name to extort money from vendors.
They brought sand, cement, bricks and built a podium around 2.30 am. They then brought the bust, purchased in Vijayanagar, and installed it by 3 am.
Reacting to the issue, Valu Rathod, Executive Engineer, BBMP said, “The AEE was following the case. I was told that the police are still investigating, but I will look into the matter and take necessary action
at the earliest.”