A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised by unidentified miscreants in Punjab's Bathinda.

The incident happened at a public park in Rama Mandi on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The park is located adjacent to the local body office in Rama Mandi, which is around 30 kilometres from Bathinda city.

The incident came to light on Friday morning when people noticed the vandalized statue of the Mahatma lying on the grass inside the park, police said. The head of the statue was missing.

A case has been registered and the matter is under investigation.

This incident comes just days after a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was defaced in Canada's Ontario province. The statue was vandalised at Vishnu Mandir in the area of Yonge Street and Garden Avenue, according to reports.

Ministers in Canada have condemned the vandalisation of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), while local law enforcement is investigating it as a “hate-motivated incident”.