Kolkata: Tension gripped north Kolkata’s Sukeas Street area after the pedestal of a newly installed statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee was found vandalized in the wee hours of Sunday.The incident, which took place ahead of Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary on Monday, sparked political outrage. Cops have arrested a suspect in connection with the early-morning attack.According to sources, the initiative to erect the statue at the busy intersection of Sukeas Street and APC Road was driven by the BJP’s youth wing to commemorate the birth anniversary. Alongside Mookerjee’s bust, a statue of Gopal Mukherjee, also known as Gopal Patha, has been set up.While installation work for both structures concluded on Saturday night, miscreants allegedly struck under the cover of darkness. Although the primary statues escaped damage, the concrete pedestals underneath were broken, and the name plaques were smashed and left scattered across the road.Local netas of the BJP youth wing rushed to the spot in the wee hours after learning about the incident. A formal plaint was lodged at the Amherst Street PS. A case under sections 298, 324(4), and 61(2) of the BNS has been registered. The FIR was recorded based on a written complaint by 23-year-old Saumyajit Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Rammohan Roy Road.During the initial phase of the investigation, police arrested 26-year-old Rupesh Hazra, a resident of Wards Institution Street under the Narkeldanga PS. He was produced in court and sent to police custody till July 9.“Investigation is on and CCTV footage is also being checked,’ said additional CP (crime) Kunal Agarwal. .
