Police threatened to dispose of Galwan martyr’s bust, says brother

Vaishali (Bihar): The brother of Galwan Valley martyr Jai Kishore has alleged that the Bihar Police ordered them to remove a memorial that they built for the fallen jawan, in Vaishali, failing which they will “dispose of it in the water”.

The claim comes a day after the kin of the jawan, who was among the 20 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the clash with Chinese PLA troops in the Galwan Valley in 2020, alleged that his father was thrashed and arrested by the police for building a memorial for his son on government land at Jandaha in Bihar’s Vaishali.

The police claimed that the memorial was built on land owned by someone else, amounting to encroachment.

“I don’t have any idea why they arrested my father or why an FIR was filed against him. All the information that has come out in the public domain in the matter is fabricated. This memorial was built following due process. The DSP ordered us to remove the memorial, threatening to dispose of it in the water if we did not comply,” Nand Kishore, brother of the slain jawan Jai Kishore, told ANI on Tuesday.

Manju Devi, the mother of the fallen soldier, told ANI that the police manhandled her husband and gave no information on the legal action taken against him. She added the police “threatened” the family with consequences if they do not remove the memorial.

The police had earlier claimed that no permission was sought to build the memorial on the land, which they claimed belonged to someone else.

“On January 23, a case was registered under SC/ST Act over a bust installed on the land belonging to Hari Nath Ram and on government land in Jandaha. Later, boundary walls were erected around the memorial. They (family of the fallen jawan) did not seek official permission. If they wanted, they could have made it on their own land or sought land from the government. There would not have been any issue then. The landowner’s rights were violated due to encroachment,” the SDPO Mahua said on Tuesday.

However, the jawan’s brother, Nand Kishore, who is also in the armed forces, accused the police of thrashing his father and abusing him.

“DSP ma’am visited us, asking us to remove the statue within 15 days. I said I will show her the paperwork (for raising the memorial). Later, the police station in-charge came to our home and beat up my father before arresting him. They also abused my father. I am also in the armed forces,” Nand Kishore said.

The locals protested against the police action and also chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.