'Take immediate action’: MEA condemns theft of Mahatma Gandhi statue in Australia

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Tuesday condemned the theft of Mahatma Gandhi’s bronze statue in Melbourne, Australia.The ministry said it has strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take immediate action.“We strongly condemn the vandalisation and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne, by unidentified people,” the MEA said in a statement.“We have strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take immediate action to recover the missing statue and hold the culprits accountable,” it added.Earlier, a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was stolen from the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville.According to Australia Today, the statue was stolen by three unidentified offenders in the early hours of Monday, January 12.“Officers have been told the offenders used an angle grinder to cut the statue,” the police said in a statement.According to the news outlet, the statue was gifted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and was inaugurated on November 12, 2021, by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.