Overview
- Additional District Magistrate Alok Kumar said a structure containing a statue, claimed locally to be of Ahilyabai Holkar, was demolished during renovation and ordered an inquiry to establish whose effigy it was.
- Members of the Pal community led by Mahendra Pal Pintu staged a protest at the site, demanding the statue’s reinstallation and accountability from officials.
- The Khasgi Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Charities Trust condemned the demolition, asserting effigies of the queen were reduced to rubble and calling for efforts to recover them.
- District officials said no temple was damaged, reported that idols and artefacts uncovered during excavation were preserved for reinstallation after construction, and described the dispute as arising from confusion.
- The redevelopment is a CSR-backed project to modernise the cremation ghat and improve access, and it continues as authorities examine what was removed and who authorised the action.