Four persons have been arrested for allegedly desecrating a bust of Dr B.R. Ambedkar that sparked violent protests in parts of the north Karnataka city of Gulbarga on Tuesday.

A resident had early on Tuesday found a garland of footwear placed around the bust of Ambedkar in Kotnur village on the outskirts of Gulbarga.

District police commissioner Chetan R. on Wednesday told a media conference in Gulbarga that the four arrested men were booked under various penal provisions for trying to spark a riot and hurting the sentiments of a community, and remanded in judicial custody.

The accused have been identified as Kiran, Hanumanth, Bhanu and Sangamesh. Efforts are on to trace a fifth accused who has been absconding since the incident. “The preliminary investigation points to a larger plan to trigger violence,” Chetan said.

Hundreds of locals rushed to the spot as the news of the desecration spread. Eventually, more people joined in a protest that brought life to a standstill in the area.

Protesters burnt tyres and allegedly forced shops to down shutters and vehicles to stay off the roads, demanding the arrest of the culprits. Many resorted to stone-pelting at shops.

State minister for IT, biotechnology and rural development, Priyank Kharge, who is in charge of Gulbarga and was present at the media conference, said it was not clear if the desecration had anything to do with the sentiments surrounding the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“I don’t know. The investigation is on,” he said.

But he added such acts of desecration were usually the handiwork of “Manuvadis”. Manuvadis are followers of the Manu Smriti, which the Sangh Parivar espouses.

“Whether it is a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar or Basavanna (12th-century social reformer), it is usually the Manuvadis who engage in such acts. It’s not about which party they belong to. But Manuvadis are Manuvadis,” said Priyank, who had camped in the district after the desecration and the protests that followed.

The police commissioner said that the accused were identified and arrested by the three special teams formed to crack the case. “We will interrogate them again to get to the bottom of the case and arrest the conspirators behind this incident (of desecrating the statue),” said the officer.

Both Priyank and Chetan pledged appropriate action against those who had resorted to violence and destroyed public property.

“The first task was to arrest those behind this desecration. Now we would take action on those who took the law into their hands,” said the minister.