New Delhi, March 17: Incidences of vandalism of statues of political and historical leaders have been reported from various parts of the country in the past few days.  Miscreants have now targeted a statue of Jawaharlal Nehru in West Bengal. On Friday night, black ink was thrown at Nehru’s statue in Katwa's Telephone Maidan. As per reports, Police reached the spot on receiving information and the statue was cleaned later.

The attack on statues across the country began after two statues of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin were brought down in Tripura following the BJP's win in the state over the Left. The Left had been in power in Tripura for over 25 years now. Following the attack on Lenin’s statue, a statue of social reformer Ramasamy Periyar was stoned in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district, allegedly by a BJP worker who has since been taken into custody.

Days after, the bust of Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was damaged in Kolkata's Kalighat area. Nearly seven people have been arrested in connection with the damaging of the statue. The BJP, that emerged from the Jan Sangh condemned the vandalism and demanded strict action against those responsible.

In a similar incident, a bust of Mahatma Gandhi was found defaced in Kannur district's Taliparamba town earlier this month. As per reports, the spectacle carving was damaged and a garland on the statue was lying nearby. Some locals on the spot were reported as saying that they saw a man hurling a stone at the statue before fleeing the spot.

Also, a statue of Dalit icon Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was damaged in Chennai's Tiruvottiyur area. As per reports, a group of unidentified people poured red paint on Ambedkar's statue. The Chennai police took cognizance of the matter and rushed to the spot at around 9 am. The police are currently on the lookout for the miscreants.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 17, 2018 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).