Shimla:
On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, October 1, miscreants in Shimla strung empty beer bottles together and "garlanded" a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the heart of the hill town of Shimla. A case has been registered, an inquiry ordered and a police constable, who was on duty in the famous Ridge area where it happened, has been suspended by the administration in the BJP-ruled state.
While Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has promised to "punish the culprits," Shimla's deputy mayor Tikender Panwar said he believed Shimla locals would not desecrate a Mahatma statue this way. "I don't feel this has been done by people who don't agree with Gandhiji's principle or anything like that. And I also don't think the people of Shimla would do such things. A lot of tourists come to Shimla daily, as far as action is concerned, there should be more patrolling at such places," Mr Panwar said.
Chief Minister Dhumal said, "It is a very unfortunate incident. Some people's social values have no meaning. Police was on duty... the constable who was on duty has been suspended. We have ordered a probe and will punish the culprits."
In another incident, someone stole the spectacles from a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Anna Hazare's Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra. This is the same statute from where the Gandhian activist embarked on his crusade against corruption a year ago.