Police have so far arrested 19 people in connection with the clash over a statue in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district and the situation in the area is peaceful amid heavy police presence, an official said on Saturday.

Members of two communities clashed and pelted stones at each other after a statue of former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was pulled down by unidentified persons in Makedon tehsil on Thursday morning.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP-Rural) Nitish Bhargava said a total of 19 people have been arrested so far in connection with the clash. He has been booked for rioting and using criminal force to prevent a public servant from performing his duty.

He said that markets are open in Makedon and the situation in the town is normal. He said there is peace between the two groups, but police are monitoring the situation and status quo is maintained at the disputed site.

There is no news of anyone being injured in the clash that took place on Thursday. However, this prompted authorities to deploy a large number of police personnel in the Makedon area, located about 50 km from the district headquarters.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed a group of people pulling down the statue with a tractor. Police sources had said that they wanted the statue of social reformer and chief architect of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, to be installed at that place in place of Patel.

He said Patel’s statue was installed at a site near Makedon bus stand on Wednesday night. Bhargava said on Friday that they were still trying to find out when the statue was installed.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)