MP: Days after clash, two groups agree to install statues of Patel and Ambedkar at same spot

Days after the removal of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue from a town in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district ostensibly to make way for B R Ambedkar's triggered a clash, two groups have mutually agreed to install the statues of both leaders at the same spot.

Members of two communities clashed and hurled stones at each other after the statue of Vallabhbhai Patel was pulled down by unidentified persons in Makdone tehsil on Thursday morning, according to police.

A meeting of members of both communities was organised in Ujjain on Sunday in the presence of district collector Neeraj Kumar Singh and Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma, an official release said.

The members decided that statues of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and BR Ambedkar would be installed at Makdone bus stand, the release stated.

Sharma told the representatives of both communities that those responsible for creating disharmony will face action, it said.

These representatives were told to cooperate with the police in the ongoing cases.

Police arrested 19 persons in connection with the January 25 clash till Saturday and booked them on charges of rioting and using criminal force to deter a public servant from performing their duty, a senior officer had said.

In a video of the incident, which went viral on social media, some people were seen pulling down the statue of Patel using a tractor, as they wanted to install a statue of Ambedkar at the site, police had said.

The statue of Patel was installed at a site close to the Makdone bus stand late Wednesday night, leading to the clash.