Asianet Newsable Impact: Army assures help to Bihar family fighting for Galwan Valley braveheart's memorial
Even as the rest of the national media wakes up to how Rajkapoor Singh was dragged and abused while being taken to the police station, Asianet Newsable has now learnt that the Indian Army has taken cognisance of the reportage and come forward to assist the braveheart's family.
FollowThe plight of the father of the braveheart who lost his life in the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 with the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which Asianet Newsable first reported, has sent shockwaves across the country. Even as the rest of the national media wakes up to how Rajkapoor Singh was dragged and abused while being taken to the police station, Asianet Newsable has now learnt that the Indian Army has taken cognisance of the reportage and come forward to assist the braveheart's family.
A team from the Indian Army visited deceased soldier Jai Kishore Singh's village Chakfateh under Jandaha block, met the family members, and assured them of all possible assistance.
Also Read: Bihar shocker: Cops drag, abuse father of soldier who died fighting for nation at Galwan
The family members claimed that Rajkapoor was dragged and abused while being taken into custody over a land dispute, which was reportedly settled at a Panchayat meeting before the construction of the memorial for Jai Kishore even began. The land on which the memorial was to be built is government land, which was adjacent to the plot owned by a Harinath Ram. At the Panchayat meeting, Harinath was asked to vacate the land and promised he would be provided with another land some distance away. Harinath reportedly agreed to the arrangement but later took a U-turn as the memorial construction was nearing completion. Instead of taking the land purchased for him, Harinath insisted on the memorial being removed and then filed a complaint against the braveheart's father under the SC/ST Act.
The late soldier's elder brother, Nandkishore Singh, who is also in the Indian Army, had told Asianet Newsable on Monday that following the registration of the FIR, the Deputy Superintendent of Police had visited their home and directed them to remove the statue. When the family showed resistance, days later, the Station House Officer of Jandaha arrived at the family's home, dragged Rajkapoor out and abused him in public glare before bundling him into the police vehicle on February 25.
The role of the Circle Officer, who allegedly did not hand over a copy of the Panchayat agreement, has come to the fore. The Indian Army personnel visited Jandaha police station and met Station Head Officer Bishwanath Ram to know the case status.
Jandaha SHO Bishwanath Ram told Asianet Newsable that Rajkapoor was arrested as per the law. "Our senior official found him to be violating the law. He has a huge land he can build on his piece of land."
The SHO claimed that Rajkapoor's son Nandkishore was politicising the matter. "Members of the Bajrang Dal and other outfits are trying to destabilise the situation in the village," the police officer said.
However, Nandkishore said: "We have called no one here. People sympathise with us because injustice has been done to us. The police cannot drag and abuse anyone."
When asked why the statue cannot be built on his own piece of land, he said: "We built it here because my mother is aged; she wanted to see her son (Jai Kishore) every day. The memorial was built in consensus with the complainant (Harinath), and they had participated in the inauguration ceremony on February 24 last year."
"We were supposed to provide the land to the complainant. We bought land for them months ago. But they refused to take and filed a false case under SC/ST Act," Nandkishore Singh said.
Alleging the police personnel of being hand-in gloves with the complainant, he said: "They have even threatened me of being implicated in the false case."
In Rajkapoor's case, what is more shocking is the political apathy. Tall promises were made to the family of a soldier who gave up his life for the honour of the country. They were promised a memorial but got just betrayal. Land was promised to build the memorial, but that never happened. The family took it upon itself to construct the memorial to honour the braveheart. Even there, too, the family now finds itself in a position to fend for itself.
