Queens Hindu temple unveiling new Gandhi statue after vandals destroyed original
NEW YORK -- A Hindu temple in Queens is unveiling a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi after the original was destroyed by vandals last summer.
Surveillance video captured a suspect hitting the Gandhi statue at Shri Tulsi Mandir in Richmond Hill with what appeared to be a sledgehammer in August 2022.
The next morning, the temple's founder said the statue was reduced to rubble and "dog" was spray painted in front of the temple and down the block.
The statue was already damaged in an incident two weeks earlier, when someone knocked it over and broke off the hands and nose.
Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar and Mayor Eric Adams will be at the site to officially unveil the new statue on Sunday.
Gandhi, the iconic leader of India's independence movement, was assassinated in 1948.