Villagers Clash With Police In Lucknow Over Removal Of Ambedkar's Statue; 19 Injured, Paramilitary Force Deployed

Clashes broke out in Lucknow's Bakshi Ka Talab on Saturday as people protested against the shifting of BR Ambedkar's statue on public land. As many as 29 people were injured in the clash and a company of PAC was deployed in the village as a precautionary measure. 

On Friday, some people placed Ambedkar's statue on the land of the village society (haat) in Mahigawan area of Khantari village. The police were alerted about the development after which they tried to remove the statue on Saturday. 

The police's action angered the villagers and hundreds of them surrounded the cops and administration teams, hurling stones at them. In self-defence, the police fired tear gas shells, reported The Times of India. 

VIDEO | Uttar Pradesh: Visuals from Khantari village in Lucknow.

Clashes erupted in Khantari on Saturday following a stone-pelting incident. A group of people was protesting against the police which had arrived in the village to remove the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar on government… pic.twitter.com/6igTZIyUkc

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 13, 2025

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6 Policemen Injured 

Six cops were injured in the incident including inspector Shiv Mangal Singh, SI Rawendra Singh, SI Sheshmani Mishra, LIU in-charge Hridayesh Verma and woman inspector Maneka Singh. As per the report, SI Rawendra Singh's skull was also fractured in the violence. 

Meanwhile, villagers were also wounded who were identified as Savitri, Ajit, Suman, Subhash, Dilip, Hrithik, Govind, Amarpal, Rakesh, and Surendra Rawat. 

Some mediapersons were also injured while police detained four people including the village pradhan's husband. 

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Clash Between Villagers, Police 

As per the report, there is a land outside Khantari where a market is held and villagers organise wedding function. Some people had placed a statue of Ambedkar on the land on Friday with the permission of the village chief's husband. 

The police were alerted about the development and reached the spot at around 2 pm on Saturday. 

The cops asked the representatives of the village head to remove the statue, adding taht they would get it installed later. However, the villagers were did not give in and soon hundreds of them surrounded the policemen with sticks. 

Police station in-charge Shiv Mangal Singh's attempt to convince the villagers went futile as the villagers insisted they would remove the statue only after Ambedkar Jayanti on Sunday. 

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