Four engineers, two from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and two from a private construction company, have been suspended with immediate effect for allegedly removing the statue of former Congress Union minister late Madhavrao Scindia in an objectionable manner from a road construction project in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh.

A video of the statue being shifted with the help of an earthmoving machine with a noose tied around the structure’s neck surfaced on social media, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav issued strict directives on Saturday to take stringent action against those responsible.

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MP BJP Chief V D Sharma and others had also expressed strong objection to the removal of the bust of Madhavrao Scindia, father of union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who had joined the ruling BJP after quitting from the Congress in 2020.

According to NHAI Katni Project Director Anand Prasad, two NHAI engineers including team leader Rajesh Kumar Nema and assistant bridge engineer Deepak Soni along with the construction company’s engineers Manoj Verma and Ashish Singh Parihar have been suspended in connection with the incident.

Prasad said that show-cause notices have also been served to some other NHAI employees.

Scindia’s statue has been present at the Chaka junction in Katni for the past several years. It was to be shifted during the broadening of the Katni bypass, on national highway number 30, from two-lane to four-lane.

However, the controversy erupted after the bust was removed in an objectionable manner.