New York: A new statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled near a Hindu temple in New York. The statue was unveiled by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Indo-American State Assembly Member Jennifer Rajkumar. Two attempts were made to vandalize the statue of Gandhi in front of Tulsi Mandir on 111th Street in Richmond Hill. Attempts were made to destroy the statue on August 3 and 16, 2022.
The statue was painted with the word “dog” and beaten with a hammer. Since then, efforts are being made to rebuild the statue of Gandhi. Unveiling the statue, Mayor Adams said hate has no place in our city.
“We embody the values of justice that gave life to Gandhiji,” he added at the event attended by members of the Indian-American community.
Rajkumar demanded that the incident of destruction of the statue should be treated as a hate crime and an investigation should be conducted. A video has emerged which shows that people between the ages of 25 and 30 tried to destroy the statue. After the violence, the assailants escaped in a white colored Mercedes Benz and a dark colored Toyota Camry. 27-year-old Sukhpal Singh was arrested a month after the attack. A hate crime was filed against him. In 2022, more than 330 hate crimes were reported in the US.
This is a 127 percent increase compared to 2020. This figure was released by the New York Police Department.