Uproar in Bihar Assembly over arrest of martyr Galvan soldier’s father, orders for inquiry

Bihar’s recent arrest of the father of a soldier killed in the 2020 Galwan Valley skirmish and alleged police misbehavior with him sparked an uproar in the state assembly on Wednesday, with the opposition BJP raging even as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also said that he had received a call from Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue and told him that the matter was being probed and appropriate action would be taken.

Separately, a statement from the police headquarters said Director General of Police RS Bhatti has “taken serious note of media reports about the incident” and ordered a thorough probe.

Raj Kapoor Singh, father of Jai Kishore Singh, one of the 20 Indian Army soldiers killed in a clash with Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley last Saturday, was arrested at Jandaha in Vaishali district, about 50 km from Bihar’s capital Patna. Was. After a dispute over the construction of a monument to his son.

According to the agency’s report quoting the local police, Raj Kapoor was arrested on the basis of a police case lodged against him by one Vishwanath Ram, who accused him of encroaching on his land and illegally constructing his son’s memorial. was accused of doing.

News agency ANI quoted family members as saying that Raj Kapoor was beaten up and the police forced him to remove the soldier’s statue. “I don’t know why they arrested my father or why an FIR was filed against him. Whatever information has come out in the public domain in the matter is fabricated. This memorial was built after due process,” ANI quoted Jai Kishore’s brother Nand Kishore as saying.

On the other hand, according to ANI, the police have claimed that no permission was sought to build the memorial on the land which belonged to someone else. “On January 23, a case was registered under the SC/ST Act regarding the land of Hari Nath Ram and an idol installed on government land in Jandaha. Later, a boundary wall was erected around the monument. They (martyr jawan’s family) did not take official permission. If they wanted, they could have built it on their own land or could have sought land from the government. Then there is no issue. Landlords’ rights were violated due to the encroachment,” an ANI report quoted SDPO Mahua as saying without naming the police officer on Tuesday.

Vaishali Superintendent of Police (SP) Mr. Manish said on Wednesday that a team from the police headquarters has reached the spot and will give its detailed report on the developments. “I cannot comment on the matter as the matter is being looked into by the police headquarters,” he said.

The Vaishali administration has also dismissed reports that the constable’s father was beaten up by the policemen.

at home

Meanwhile, members of the opposition BJP in the Bihar Legislative Assembly created ruckus and staged a walkout on Wednesday over the issue.

The protest turned ugly when some BJP legislators tried to disrupt proceedings by placing chairs on journalists’ tables and banging desks incessantly, prompting Speaker Awadh Bihari Chowdhary to warn that “they would be forced to take disciplinary action”. . As the ruckus continued, the Speaker allowed Leader of the Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha to make a statement after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary intervened.

In his statement, Sinha alleged that the armed forces had been deliberately insulted ever since the “Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance)” came to power in Bihar.

At this point, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav got up and said that he had met Jai Kishore Singh’s family soon after the soldier was killed. “He belonged to a village (Chakfatah) which is not far from the assembly seat (Raghopur) that I represent. I had met the family members demanding the construction of the martyr’s memorial.

The Deputy CM said that according to reports, the family members of the soldier were not ready to build a memorial on their own land, but were ready to build a memorial on the adjacent land of a person from the Scheduled Caste community.

“The Grand Alliance government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar believes in the rule of law. The law is doing its job.

CM Kumar said that he has assured the Defense Minister of the investigation. The CM said, “I told him (Rajnath Singh) that I will find out the reason behind the arrest by the police and what exactly happened.”

However, the BJP MLAs continued to raise slogans for some time before walking out.