Photo, May 23 -- The controversial football-themed statue outside Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium was demolished on Saturday by authorities under the new Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal.

Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Visuals from the spot showed only the shoes and a couple of footballs remaining after the operation.

The possibility of removing the sculpture had earlier been hinted at by West Bengal Sports Minister Nisith Pramanik.

The sculpture was conceptualised and designed during the tenure of Mamata Banerjee ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.

Over the years, the statue frequently became a subject of online debate and memes because of its unusual design.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from India...