The statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, was vandalized by unknown miscreants during the ongoing protests in the US, over the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd.
The incident is reported to have taken place on the intervening night of June 2 and 3 in Washington DC, Hindustan Times reported.
The Indian Embassy informed the State Department and has registered a complaint with the United States Park Police, and have now launched an investigation into the matter.
Mahatma Gandhi’s statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC desecrated by unruly elements of #BlackLivesMatter protesters. Sources tell ANI that United States Park Police have launched an investigation, more details awaited. pic.twitter.com/jxRpIhqd2W
— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2020
The statue of Mahatma Gandhi was dedicated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the presence of the then US President Bill Clinton on September 16, 2000, during his state visit to the US.
The US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, apologized for the act of desecration, ‘So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Washington, DC. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd and the awful violence and vandalism. Please accept our sincere apologies,’ as quoted by ANI.
He added that such kind of prejudice and discrimination is, in no way, promoted by the the country. The statue has now been covered up and the investigation is under way.
Locals told the news agency that some ‘unruly elements’ who were allegedly part of the #BlackLivesMatter protests graffitied Gandhi’s statue with spray paints. However, further details on the matter are still awaited.
The civic unrest in the US, following the killing of Floyd is being reported as one of the largest in the country in recent decades. The protests that initially started off peacefully, are now turning in the line of violence.
A local media organisation reported on how some monuments across the US have been toppled by the crowd of protesters, especially targeting monuments that glorify colonization and racial inequity.
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