Nagapattinam: A statue of Dr BR Ambedkar that was vandalised in Tamil Nadu during communal clashes on Sunday (August 25) evening was replaced with a new statue on Monday (August 26) morning.

The new statue was erected within 12 hours at the centre of Vedaranyam town in Tamil Nadu, where the dominant caste community in retaliation vandalised the previous statue due to the torching of a vehicle by a group of Dalit men on Sunday evening.

The shops in the locality were closed, and bus services had come to a halt as a few hundred policemen took positions at vantage points to control the situation.

Two people were injured in the clashes and were rushed to Nagapattinam Government Hospital.

The clash erupted following injuries caused to a pedestrian belonging to the Dalit community in an accident reportedly caused by a vehicle driven by a person belonging to a dominant Hindu community.

Supporters of the injured person reportedly reacted by setting the vehicle ablaze. Hundreds of members from the dominant community attacked the Dalits and damaged the statue of Ambedkar.

The situation was brought under control late in the night while the superintendents of police of Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts are camping in the town.