Kasargod: Kerala police nabbed a BJP activist in connection with the defacing of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Taliparamaba of Kannur district on March 8.

Dinesh (40), a resident of Periyaram Pallikunnu was nabbed by police within hours after the incident, based on the evidence available.

The accused Dinesh, suspected to be mentally challenged had reportedly, undergone treatment for his illness two month ago. He had removed the garland and the spectacles attached to Gandhi’s statue and made attempts to damage it further by hitting it with a hard object.

The incident was reordered in the CCTVs installed in front of the taluk office in the town. Few locals too had taken the pictures, which helped police to nail the miscreant involved.

The statue was installed in the year 2005. Following the damage caused, many organisations protested.

The incident came close on the heels of similar incidents reported from Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where certain anti-social elements with suspected links to right wing groups had vandalised the statues of Lenin, Periyar and Dr. Ambedkar respectively.