Mumbai, (Samajweekly) Two days after ‘Rajgruha’ – the home of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of Indian Constitution – was vandalised, the Mumbai police arrested the main suspect in the attack, an official said here on Thursday.
In a statement, Matunga police said that after scanning the CCTV footage of the incident which happened around 5.30 p.m. on July 7, the investigators finally managed to zero in on the prime suspect, who was detained late on Wednesday.
His name is Umesh Sitaram Jadhav, 35, and he is a daily wage labourer from Parel area of south-central Mumbai. Further investigations are on.
Condemning the incident, ex-Rajya Sabha Member and senior Congress leader Bhalchandra Mungekar said that since the prime accused has been arrested, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government should place the probe details before the people within a week.
“The investigators must find out the larger conspiracy behind this, if any… whether he was acting at the behest of some other powers, or he is a mentally unstable person. Such attacks on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s statues or his monuments keep happening around the country frequently and must be stopped,” said Mungekar, an economist and prominent Dalit leader.
On Tuesday evening, it was suspected that at least two persons had entered the ‘Rajgruha’ compound in Dadar Hindu Colony, pelted stones at glass windows, damaged the CCTVs and smashed flower-pots before fleeing the spot.
The incident sparked off a political uproar on Wednesday attracting condemnation from all political parties, prominent leaders, the Ambedkar family and Dalit activists, demanding immediate action in the matter.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday assured that the culprit would be punished, while Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday announced 24×7 security around Rajgruha – built by Dr Ambedkar in 1933 – and now amongst the most-visited sites in Maharashtra.
The three-storied bungalow has a huge collection of over 50,000 books collected by Dr Ambedkar over the years, his photos, some personal effects, artefacts and his ashes, which are now displayed in a small museum in the same premises.
