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In one of the worst incidents of vandalism since the Telangana protests broke out in Andhra Pradesh, several pro-Telangana supporters broke statutes and attacked media at the Hussainsagar lake in Hyderabad on Thursday.
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The statues of revered personalities from Telugu literature, art and dynasties were broken and dumped in the lake as pro-Telangana supporters turned violent during the Million March.
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The protesters pulled down 16 statues of Telugu poets, writers, social reformers and leaders and dumped them in the lake.
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The statues of historic figures belonging to Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh became the target.
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The mob also destroyed the platforms on which the statues were installed and even removed plates carrying their names and brief history.
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The statues of famous Telugu poets Yerrapragada, Sri Sri, Gurram Jashuva, Annamayya and Vemana, the famous king of Vijayanagar empire Srikrishnadevaraya and social reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam were vandalised.
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The police say they chose not to interfere as it would worsen the situation.
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The vandalism that continued late into the evening also saw media crews being attacked with over 25 cameras being snatched and thrown away while an Ob van was also set ablaze.
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16 cases have now been registered and 54 people have been arrested for the incident.
