Haveri: A swift investigation by the Haveri City Police has culminated in the arrest of a 28-year-old man accused of vandalising a revered monument of Mahatma Gandhi. The incident, which left a local landmark disfigured, sparked immediate outrage among residents before law enforcement successfully tracked down the perpetrator.

The incident happened on Monday morning when locals in Haveri city discovered that the two-foot-tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located at Gandhi Circle, had been targeted by vandals. The right hand of the statue was found broken off. The news about the incident spread quickly and drew a crowd. The community members expressed deep anger and called for a rapid police response to preserve the sanctity of the public space.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Yashoda Vantagodi moved quickly to address the community’s concerns, commissioning a specialised task force to identify the culprit. The arrest was made following a digital trail after the police reviewed CCTV footage from multiple vantage points across the city. The special team pinpointed the suspect’s movement.

Suspect mentally unstable, says police

The investigation in the case led to the arrest of Vaibhav Raikar, a 28-year-old resident.  Following his arrest, SP Vantagodi provided details on the suspect’s condition. “The city police had formed a special team to track down the accused. Vaibhav Raikar is a mentally unstable person,” she said,  adding that the arrest was the direct result of the forensic video analysis.

Following his arrest, Raikar was taken into custody and has since been remanded to judicial custody. A formal case has been filed against him at Haveri Citu Police Station as authorities conclude their paperwork regarding the incident.

A troubling pattern of Vandalism

This incident in Karnataka serves as a grim reminder of similar acts of desecration across the country. Only last month, in March, a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar was vandalised and defaced at Ambedkar Park in Srinagar, located in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.