As India marked the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth, a memorial for the civil rights leader was vandalized in Central India.
According to local Indian news site The Wire, the caretaker at the Bapu Bhawan memorial discovered Wednesday evening that an urn containing some of Ghandi's ashes was missing and that vandals had painted "traitor" across a picture of Ghandi.
The caretaker for the memorial, Mangaldeep Tiwari, described the vandalism as "shameful."
"I opened the gate of the Bhawan early in the morning because it was Gandhi’s birthday. When I returned at around 11 pm, I found the mortal remains of Gandhi missing and his poster was defaced," Tiwari told The Wire.
Police officials in central India told the New York Times that they believe the vandalism may have been an inside job because there were no signs of a break-in and the paint used in the attack was also being used by workers at the memorial.
Authorities have pushed back on the allegations that the vandals may have also stolen some of Ghandi's remains.
The regional police superintendent told CBS News they "are not investigating the case of missing ashes or the urn."
Another police official told the New York Times that it's unclear if the ashes were stolen. The official said that while the urn is missing, it may have been moved years ago.
So far no one has claimed responsibility for the vandalism.
