Hoshiarpur, April 19 -- Three youths have been arrested for allegedly vandalising a statue of BR Ambedkar at Noorpur Jattan village on the intervening night between March 30 and 31, with police claiming that they acted on the instructions of separatist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

Those arrested have been identified as Gurkirat Singh of Barian Kalan in Hoshiarpur, and Babanpreet Singh and Sahilpreet Singh of Mohali, all in their 20s.

Hoshiarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Malik said the accused admitted to damaging the statue at the behest of Canada-based SFJ activists.

He added that Gurkirat Singh, the main conspirator, had illegally migrated to the United States in 2023, where he came in contact with ...