'India will not tolerate insult of Maharana Pratap': Men deface signboard of 'Akbar Road' in Delhi

Men defaced the signboard of 'Akbar Road' on Wednesday, claiming that the Maharana Pratap's statue at Delhi's Kashmere Gate ISBT was vandalised, ANI video showed. They were shouting slogans such as, "India will not tolerate the insult of Maharana Pratap", and "Jai Bhawani".

The news agency said that the persons who defaced the signboard appeared to be affiliated with the Hindu Rashtra Navnirman Sena. Amit Rathore, seen in the video, also claimed on his Instagram page to be the national president/founder of Hindu Rashtra Navnirman Sena.

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Recently, a video went viral on social media platforms, in which the sword and hand of Maharana Pratap's statue at Kashmere Gate can be seen damaged.

Rathore, one of those who daubed black paint on a signboard, said, "India will not tolerate the insult of Maharana Pratap. The police administration and the Delhi government are trying to suppress the incident that happened at ISBT Kashmiri Gate. Those who are guilty should be arrested, immediate action should be taken against them."

Another man, identified by ANI as Vijay, said, "We are continuously removing signboards of invaders like Akbar, Babur and Humayun, and we are trying to make the government open its eyes and take a decision... the question is why are only we doing this, where are the other people of the society?"

Nagpur unrest

This comes amid ongoing unrest in Maharashtra's Nagpur over the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who died more than 300 years ago. Some people are demanding to demolish the tomb. The clashes erupted on March 17 and Nagpur Police have arrested 50 people, including seven minors, Commissioner Ravinder Singal said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday urged people to not spread rumours. He told the state assembly, "The investigation is underway in the Nagpur violence case. There is peace in the city at present. There have been no riots here in the past several years. Some people did all this deliberately. The rumour was deliberately spread. There are many challenges on the issue of law and order, and we will be able to meet them."

(With inputs from agencies)