A marble statue of Mayawati was vandalised at Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Stahl at Gomti Nagar area on Thursday. The miscreants managed to knock Mayawati's head off.
The BSP alleged it was the handiwork of ruling Samajwadi Party workers. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav condemned the incident and claimed it was a planned conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere in the state.
The local administration, on a directive of Akhilesh, got the damaged statue replaced with a fresh one overnight.
A total of six persons were arrested in connection with the incident.
National president of a little-known outfit Uttar Pradesh Nava Nirman Sena Amit Jaani and his aide Rajendra Singh Chaudhary, alias Ferrari, were apprehended from Delhi-UP border by UP Special Task Force while the group's state president Qasim Chaudhary was arrested from Gomti Nagar area, IG (Lucknow) Asutosh Pandey on Friday.
Qasim was involved in the incident and his picture with helmet was taken, Pandey said.
Police arrested three persons, including organizers of a Sena conference Alok Srivastava, his son Arpit Srivastava and an executive of a PR agency Vishal Mishra on Thursday.
3 more held for vandalisation of Mayawati statue
Image: People look at the scene after a marble statue of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was vandalized by at the Ambedkar Park in Lucknow, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP)