New Delhi: Terming the incidents of toppling statues in Tripura and other parts of the country as unfortunate, BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday warned of severe action against guilty party members.

In a series of tweets, the BJP president said destroying statues was extremely unfortunate.

"Any person associated with the BJP found to be involved with destroying any statue will face severe action from the party," he said.

In Tamil Nadu, a statue of iconic Dravidian leader Periyar was vandalized while a statue of Jana Sangh leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee was targeted in West Bengal.

"We as a party do not support bringing down anybody's statue," he said.

Shah also spoke to the party units in Tamil Nadu and Tripura and asked the leaders to take strong action if anybody was found involved in vandalism.

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Sundargarh (Odisha) (PTI): Six people were killed and five others injured after a vehicle in which they were travelling rammed into a truck in Odisha's Sundargarh district early on Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred near Gaikanapali area under the Hemgiri Police Station limits when the passenger-carrying van hit the truck from behind, a senior officer said.

"Six members of a 'kirtan' group died on the spot, and five others were injured. Maybe, the accident occurred due to fog in the area," he said.

The 'kirtan' party went to Chakkplai village for a programme on the occasion of Diwali, and the accident took place when they were returning to their villages.

The deceased people belonged to Kandagoda and Samarpinda villages in the district.

The injured persons were admitted to a local hospital, the officer said.

Local people blocked the road, demanding ex gratia for the victims' families.