Hoshiarpur, March 31 A statue of B.R. Ambedkar, installed on top of a building in Noorpur Jattan village here, was vandalized on Tuesday by some unidentified individuals, police said.
A rod-like object was used to damage the statue, which was encased in toughened glass, they said.
Later in the day, a video surfaced on social media in which pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) purportedly claimed responsibility for the vandalism.
Officials said they are examining the video for its authenticity.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Garhshankar, Daljit Singh Khakh, said a case has been registered against unknown individuals.
Police said that no CCTV cameras were installed there, but their teams are examining CCTV footage from nearby areas.
This is not the first such incident.
In June last year, the same statue was vandalized, following which an FIR was registered.
Meanwhile, members of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by its Punjab unit chief Avtar Singh Karimpuri, visited the spot and protested.
Karimpuri condemned the act and demanded that the accused be arrested within 72 hours.
He also announced a party rally in the village on April 18, demanding protection for the statues of the Dalit icon.
Karimpuri attacked both the AAP-led Punjab government and the BJP-led central government, alleging that they failed to protect Ambedkar's statue.
He said this is the ninth incident of statue vandalism in the region.
Karimpuri asserted that these acts are part of a larger political conspiracy to disturb social harmony and marginalize the Dalit community.