Two people have been arrested in Guwahati for allegedly damaging public property while painting a mural of activist Sonam Wangchuk on Friday night. The arrests were made by a patrol team that found the duo in the process of painting on a wall near the Jyoti Bishnu auditorium. According to the police, the two individuals claimed they were creating a painting of Sonam Wangchuk when questioned.
The development in Guwahati comes a day after a large mural of Wangchuk, painted on a flyover pillar in the city, drew attention. The painting, reportedly created by students of the Government College of Art & Craft, depicts the activist and is accompanied by the text ‘Save Sonam Wangchuk.’ Police have registered a case in connection with this painting as well.
The Guwahati East police official stated that they have been noticing a trend of people damaging public property, including bridges and government buildings, under the guise of painting. The official emphasized that this is not acceptable and that they will take strict action against those responsible.
The arrests in Guwahati coincide with the hospitalization of Sonam Wangchuk, who was on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for the past 20 days. Wangchuk was taken to Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi on Saturday morning amid heavy police deployment at the protest site.
Wangchuk has been protesting against the spate of exam paper leaks in the country. His removal from the protest site came a day after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs removed Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha and appointed Anurag Kumar in his place. Kumar met with special commissioners of police-rank officers and began preparing a strategy to remove Wangchuk from the protest site.
The incident has drawn attention from various opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Shiv Sena (UBT), which have extended support to Wangchuk, demanding that the Centre engage with him and sack Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
