Two men were arrested on charges of having vandalizied the Mahathma Gandhi statue at the Community Hall at Ashirvathappanveethy in Ariyalai, Jaffna Police said.

They said the statue was damaged on Sunday after a drunken brawl between two groups who had gathered there.

Police said people usually gathered at the spot to indulge in sporting activities such as volleyball or football while some others indulged in drinking liquor or gambling.

On this particular night some men who had been drinking had begun to fight when two of them looking for a weapon had attempted to pull the stick out of the statue to attack the others resulting in the statue falling off the pedestal.

Sivasubramanium Sivananthan and Kandiah Thevaneethan were arrested and will be produced in court in a few days. (Supun Dias)