Washington, July 2: A statue honouring India's independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi was re-inaugurated outside the Indian embassy in Washington DC. The structure was desecrated and vandalised by a frenzied group during the George Floyd protests that had flared up last month. Winston Churchill Statue Vandalised in London During George Floyd Death Protests and Black Lives Matter Movement (Watch Video).

The statue of Gandhi was jointly re-inaugurated today by United States' Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and Indian envoy to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu at the park located outside the Indian embassy.

Gandhi's statue was desecrated and vandalised using graffiti and spray paint on the intervening night of June 2 and 3. Local media reports had claimed that an unruly section of the Black Lives Matter protesters had vandalised the statue after accusing the Indian epitome of peace as a person with "racist" ideology.

Update by ANI

The US administration had, in the past month, expressed grief over the act of disrespect towards the man considered as "father of the nation" by India. The Foreign Department had assured the Indian embassy that the statue would be reinstated with due honour.

Apart from Gandhi, statues and memorials linked to several historical personalities were vandalised during the protests that flared up to seek justice for George Floyd. Notably, 46-year-old Floyd was killed on May 25 after a police assault in Minneapolis.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2020 08:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).