Guwahati, Feb 25: Unidentified miscreants allegedly uprooted and removed a statue of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, using an excavator at Poilapool in the Lakhipur sub-division of Assam’s Cachar district.
According to reports, the incident took place late on the night of February 23 at a four-way junction in the busy Poilapool market area.
CCTV footage purportedly shows heavy machinery being used to pull down the statue before it was loaded onto a vehicle and taken away. A group of unidentified individuals were seen operating the excavator during the operation.
The statue had been installed in the 1990s by former Assam minister and local MLA Dinesh Prasad Goala at the Poilapool junction, a key commercial hub in the area.
Former Silchar District Congress president Pradip Kumar Dey, accompanied by party workers, lodged an FIR at Lakhipur Police Station demanding immediate arrests.
Calling the act “deeply condemnable,” Congress leaders questioned how heavy equipment could be used in a public place without drawing immediate attention. They alleged that the incident appeared premeditated and demanded stringent action against those responsible.
“We condemn such an incident and demand the immediate arrest of the culprits for damaging the statue. Everybody knows on whose instructions the statue was removed and what is going on in Lakhipur. On the night of February 23, the miscreants used an excavator to remove the statue. It shows the mindset of the people involved,” Dey said.
Police have not yet identified the accused, and further investigation is underway.
