According to a report in BBC, Gandhi’s ashes were stolen from a memorial where they had been stored since his assassination in 1948.
The culprits also defaced his photographs by writing the word ‘traitor’ on them.
The report in BBC quoted police in Madhya Pradesh state as saying that they were investigating the incident on grounds of actions ‘prejudicial to national integration’ and 'potential breach of peace'. The caretaker of the Bapu Bhawan memorial, where the ashes were stored, termed the incident ‘shameful’.
The caretaker told media, “I opened the gate of the Bhawan early in the morning because it was Gandhi’s birthday. When I returned at around 23:00, I found the mortal remains of Gandhi missing and his poster was defaced.”
A leader of the Indian National Congress filed a complaint, following which police took action.
Mahatma Gandhi is famous for his idea of Satyagraha, a form of non-violent resistance, which he used effectively in the Indian Independence Movement.
In India, Gandhi is revered as the father of the nation. However, Hindu extremists are not very fond of the rights leader, with Gandhi being accused of being pro-Muslim around the time of partition. In 1948, he was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist, who gave Gandhi’s pro-Muslim stance as one of the reasons for why he murdered him.