NIZAMABAD: Police fired tear-gas shells and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse two groups of activists fighting over installation of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at Ambedkar Centre at Bodhan in Nizamabad district on Sunday.
The trouble started when a group of activists of Hindu organisations — Hindu Vahini and Bajrang Dal, installed the statue at the centre even as the AIMIM workers took objection to it, contending that there was no permission to do so. Soon tempers ran high and both the groups began raising slogans and started attacking each other with stones.
The police who sensed that the situation was getting out of control, first resorted to lathi-charge and when it did not work, they fired tear-gas shells. The police also rounded up several activists and shifted them to different police stations.
The activists of the Hindu organisations argued that the municipal council had passed a resolution to instal the statue at Amebdkar Centre and that there should not be any objection it. But the AIMIM and TRS activists maintained that though the resolution had been passed, no official proceedings were initiated and therefore the statue cannot be installed.
They said that in the past a board naming a road after Nizam in the town was removed by municipality workers and so the statue that has been installed should be removed. The officials could consider erecting the statue only after all clearances are obtained.
Police Commissioner KR Nagaraju reached Bodhan town and supervised the operation to bring the situation under control. Bodhan ACP N Rama Rao said: “The situation is now under control. Additional forces have been deployed in several places in the town. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC are in force in the town.”
Meanwhile, the Hindu organisations called for Bodhan Bandh on Monday to protest against the police lathi-charge. Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind and BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned the use of force.
Arvind said that there was no question of shifting the statue from its present location, come what may, while Sanjay Kumar alleged that it was the TRS and AIMIM activists who threw stones at the activists of Hindu organisations. He wanted to know if Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was trying to implement Sharia law in Telangana by spreading vile and hate against Hindus.