A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised, broken and ripped from the base by unknown miscreants in the Central Park of the City of Davis in Northern California, USA. The incident has shocked and outraged the Indian-Americans across the country who have demanded that the officials investigate it as an incident of hate crime.
The local Davis Enterprise daily reported that the bronze statue which was 6-ft tall and weighed 249Kgs appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles and half its face was severed and missing
The police said that a park employee found the vandalised statue in the early hours of the morning of January 27. However, investigators are still unsure of when exactly the statue was torn down or what the motive may have been.
#Gandhi statue decapitation in Davis CA should be investigated by @DHSgov @FBI as a hate crime. Make no mistake @GavinNewsom @CityofDavis this is not about legacy of Gandhi as a person, but about intimidating India & Indian Americans: https://t.co/8W7G3MBM61 pic.twitter.com/iwqq0OWLpu
— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) January 29, 2021
Meanwhile, the vandalism was praised on Twitter by a Pro-Khalistan Group in California, who shared photos of the destroyed statue, and others who stated: “Today Is A Good Day.” This is not the first time a statue of Gandhi has been desecrated. In December 2020, Khalistani-supporters had desecrated a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Washington, DC in front of the Indian Embassy.
The 6-feet tall statue of Gandhi was donated by the Indian government to the city of Davis and was installed by the city council four years ago amidst protests from anti-Gandhi and anti-India organisations.
