India on Tuesday condemned the vandalisation and elimination of the Mahatma Gandhi statue from Australian Indian Neighborhood Centre in Melbourne by unidentified folks, saying that it has raised the matter with the related Australian authorities. 

Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) said that India has urged Australia to take “instant motion” to seek out the lacking statue and take motion in opposition to the culprits.

In response to media queries relating to the statue in Australia, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We strongly condemn the vandalization and elimination of the Mahatma Gandhi statue situated on the Australian Indian Neighborhood Centre in Rowville, Melbourne by unidentified folks. We have now strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take instant motion to get better the lacking statue and maintain the culprits accountable.”

MEA’s assertion got here after native media reviews claimed {that a} bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the Australian Indian Neighborhood Centre in Rowville was stolen, sparking concern among the many Indian Australian group in Melbourne.

Victoria Police on Monday said that officers from the Police Knox Crime Investigation Unit are finishing up probe into the theft, which allegedly happened on January 12. Police imagine the statue was stolen by three unknown folks from the charity premises on Kingsley Shut in Rowville at roughly 12:50 am (native time), ‘The Australia At this time’ reported.

The investigation into the incident is being carried out with police advising scrap metallic sellers to stay vigilant for any particular person attempting to promote the bronze statue and report any suspicious exercise instantly. Moreover, anybody with info, CCTV footage or who has seen the incident has been requested to contact Crime Stoppers, The Australia At this time reported.

Notably, the Mahatma Gandhi statue gifted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was inaugurated by Australia’s then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2021 and holds cultural, historic and symbolic significance for the Indian group within the nation.