Guwahati, Aug. 7: The statue of priest and educator John Bosco (Don Bosco) that was to be unveiled by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi at Bharalumukh riverfront, was partially damaged and pushed into the Bharalu by over 100 people at 6 this morning.

Three police personnel were injured while trying to prevent the goons from damaging the statue. Bharalumukh police have not arrested anyone so far.

"At around 6am, a group of more than 100 people came to the place. They started pelting stones and flower tubs at the statue and later threw the statue into the Bharalu. As a result, the arm of the statue broke," said a teacher of Don Bosco School, Panbazar.

The miscreants fled soon after and the people of Don Bosco Society retrieved the statue from the river.

Fr Sebastian Mathew, rector and principal, Don Bosco School, Panbazar here said, "It's indeed a sad and unfortunate incident. People with vested interests have incited some fringe groups. Everybody knows Don Bosco's contribution to Assamese society, and generations of Bosconians have marched out of the hallowed gates of Don Bosco School. I sincerely hope that one day the people of Guwahati will come forward and erect the statue of St John Bosco."

The incident has come at a time when people of Assam are demanding preservation of singer Bhupen Hazarika's house in Calcutta and the house of litterateur Lakshminath Bezbaroa's house at Chambal in Odisha - an issue that has largely focused upon also by people from Odisha.

Meanwhile, organisations such as the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) came out in support of the installation of Don Bosco's statue.

"Don Bosco has made a huge contribution to society and his statue should definitely be erected. But the government should have discussed the issue with the people before going ahead with the installation," said AJYCP president Biraj Talukdar.

"Don Bosco's contribution is immense. The statue should be erected," said AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath.

Chief minister Gogoi has "strongly condemned" the incident and has said in a statement, "We understand the local sentiments but at the same time, we must acknowledge the contribution made by John Bosco in the field of education and society at large."

After the incident, Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu visited the place and said, "We are trying to go ahead with consensus from people of all sections. People should not spread unnecessary rumours or we will have to take strong action. We are trying to strictly regulate the activities and we will not allow the public for further attack," Angamuthu told the media.

Assam PCC reacted sharply and said such incident went against the state's culture.

In a statement, senior PCC spokesperson Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya said there are reasons to believe that forces of religious intolerance had resorted to such vandalism.

The statue was supposed to be set up near Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Library near Dighali Pukhuri but was later shifted to what many call "patriotic corner," following protests from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and students of Cotton College.