Tension grips Andhra’s Chittoor after miscreants vandalise Ambedkar statue

Tension gripped the Vedurukuppam and surrounding mandals of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, after unidentified persons vandalised the statue of Ambedkar and set fire to it at Devalampeta village in the early hours of Friday (October 3, 2025).

According to information, the miscreants poured petrol on the statue and its surrounding iron bars and pedestal, and set it on fire. The villagers who noticed the fire rushed to the spot and tried to douse the flames.

Immediately after the incident, hundreds of villagers of various hamlets staged a protest on the roads. Traffic on rural roads towards Puttur, Pallipattu, and Kothapallimitta was disrupted as angry protestors resorted to rastha-rokos, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits behind the vandalism.

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Additional forces from Chittoor, Puttur, and Nagari were deployed at several villages of Vedurukuppam, Karveti Nagaram, and S.R. Puram mandals of the Gangadhara Nellore Assembly constituency (SC Reserved).

District Collector Sumit Kumar and Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi rushed to Devalampeta and convened a meeting with the community elders, appealing for peace.