Haveri (Karnataka) [India], April 21 (ANI): The Haveri Police have arrested a person accused of vandalising Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Gandhi Circle, Haveri City.

The accused has been identified as 28-year-old Vaibhav Raikar.

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Haveri SP Yashoda Vantagodi said that the accused was tracked down by a special team of the city police. He was arrested after examining the CCTV footage from different locations.

"The city Police had formed a special team to track down the accused. The accused, Vaibhav Raikar, is 28 years old and is a mentally unstable person. The police arrested the accused after examining the CCTV footage from other places," she said.

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Meanwhile, the two-foot-tall Gandhi statue was found broken on Monday morning. The right hand was broken. Locals expressed their anger at the miscreants' act and expressed hopes for a prompt investigation into the matter.

The police who took the accused into custody have remanded him in judicial custody.

A case was registered at the Haveri City Police Station.

Earlier, in a separate incident, a statue of BR Ambedkar was vandalised and defaced at Ambedkar Park in Srinagar in Uttarakhand's Garhwal in March, according to police officials.

Following the incident, there was widespread anger among the public. Consequently, people associated with various organisations lodged a complaint at Srinagar Kotwali, demanding strict action.

Speaking to ANI, Deputy Superintendent of Police Anuj Kumar said that a complaint was submitted by the Bhim Army, after which the police immediately reached the spot and cleaned the statue. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)