Bihar shocker: Cops drag, abuse father of soldier who died fighting for nation at Galwan Valley

Two and a half years ago, Raj Kapoor Singh of Vaishali district in Bihar lost one of his four sons in a violent clash with the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. Back then, a nation mourned with him. But today, he has been left to fend for himself and is behind bars. His crime? Constructing a memorial in the name of his martyr son on governmental land in his village Chakfateh under the Jandaha block.

The family members of Jai Kishore Singh, who was killed in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15, 2022, alleged that the Bihar Police dragged the late soldier's father out of his house and hurled abuses at him.

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The police denied the allegations and stated that an FIR had been registered in the Jandaha police station under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The complainant, Harinath Ram, and Rajkapoor Singh have been having a land dispute for two years now.  

Asianet News dug deeper into this shocking incident

What is the matter?

Harinath Ram and Rajkapoor Singh share the boundary of their land in the same village and have the Bihar government's land in front of theirs. Several ministers from the Bihar government, Union government and Opposition leaders visited the family members after Jai's demise and announced that a memorial would be built in his name. However, no land was allocated. Moreover, the district administration did not show any interest in it.

What does the martyr's family have to say?

The villagers had decided to construct the memorial on the government land, to which Harinath objected. A panchayat was called in which Jandaha Block's circle officer, who looks after the land records, agreed to build the memorial on the said land only. It was agreed that Rajkapoor will buy land in the vicinity and give it to Harinath, and latter must vacate that piece of land that he owns. The construction work started thereafter, but as the structure was nearing completion Harinath again started objecting and filed a case against Rajkapoor under the SC/ST Act a month ago.

The late soldier's elder brother, Nandkishore Singh, who is also in the Indian Army, told Asianet Newsable: "We had no idea about the FIR. One day, the Deputy Superintendent of Police came to our house and asked us to remove the statue. We are law-abiding citizens, but the way Station House Officer of Jandaha dragged my father and abused him in public glare is unacceptable to us. We are serving on the borders in harsh terrain and inhospitable weather conditions and at home police are harassing my age-old parents."

"The administration and police could have mediated this issue. But I don't know what prompted SHO Jandaha to do all these things," he said, adding, "It is a land dispute case. How can a case be framed under SC/ST Act? It is sheer misuse of the law. As per the agreement (reached at the Panchayat meeting), we had also bought a piece of land for them, but they refused to take it."

What does the complainant say?

"Rajkapoor has a huge piece of land in the village; he can build (the memorial) anywhere. Why does he want to build in front of my land? We also want a memorial to be built in Jaikishore's name. He was our brother too," Harinath's son Manoj Kumar, who works in a private firm, told Asianet Newsable.

On being asked about the agreement signed between the two parties, he said: "Under society’s influence we had agreed. Now, we do not want to go ahead with that agreement."

What do the police have to say?

"The memorial has been built on land which belongs to the Bihar government. It is meant for a road. Both parties have their land behind them. The accused built the memorial after blocking the road. No permission from the administration was sought for that piece of land. He could have built on his own land or sought land from the administration. There would be no issues if the complainant's road was not blocked," Mahua SDPO Poonam Kesri said.

"On January 23, an FIR was filed in the Jandaha police station by Harinath against Rajkapoor, and he has been arrested as per the law," she further said.

What do villagers have to say?

One of the villagers, who spoke to Asianet Newsable on condition of anonymity, said: "Whenever incidents of theft and snatching happen, the police never reach the site. Recently, a motorcycle was snatched from a LIC agent in the nearby area, but the Jandaha police did not reach there for long.

Another villager alleged that the SHO is prejudiced and casteist. 

Asianet Newsable has tried to reach out to the Circle Officer of the Jandaha block, but his phone is not reachable.

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