The Uttar Pradesh Police have booked 150 people for allegedly smearing black paint on Chief Minister Adityanath’s name inscribed on a statue, The Indian Express reported. Adityanath had unveiled the statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj on September 22.

The accused had also smeared paint on the names of Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Nagar and state minister Ashok Katariya.

Pradeep Tripathi, Station House Officer of Dadri police station said that police was investigating the matter and had identified many of those who were allegedly involved in the act.

“Police force was deployed in the area as a precaution and there is no law and order issue,” he said.

The accused have been booked under Sections 188 (disobedience of order), 270 (spread of disease), 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections of the Special Powers Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act.

The 15-foot statue had been at the centre of a controversy, as members of the Gurjar community had been protesting the removal of the mention of their caste from the plaque under it, according to the Hindustan Times.

Both Gurjars and Rajputs claim that the king belonged to their community. The word “Gurjar” has now been restored on the plaque, The Indian Express reported.

However, Navin Bhati, national president of the Akhil Bharatiya Gurjar Front, questioned why the name was removed during Adityanath’s visit.

“We can stop our protest only if the state government issues a notification officially announcing that ‘Gurjar’ is added to king Mihir Bhoj’s name,” he said, according to the Hindustan Times.

The organisation has called a national level meeting at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh on October 2 to decide on its future course of action on the matter. The Rajput community has also reportedly planned a meeting on Sunday to hold talks on the adding of the word “Gurjar” to the plaque.