Shahjahanpur (UP), Mar 29 (PTI) The row over the demolition of statues of Kakori Train Action martyrs shows no signs of settling as an organisation has now written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath opposing the reinstallation of the “damaged” figurines of the freedom fighters and demanding that new ones be put in their place.
Also, questions are being raised over the suspension of junior engineer Pramod Kumar and assistant engineer Manoj Kumar over the demolition of the statues by a construction firm during road widening/beautification work due to claims that the duo were on leave when the incident occurred.
The statues of martyrs Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Lal, and Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil — located within the Municipal Corporation office complex at the city’s Town Hall — were demolished on the night of March 22, sparking outrage. Following directives from the chief minister, the statues were installed at the site on March 26.
However, it is claimed that instead of installing new statues, the administration merely repaired the old figures and re-erected them.
In this matter, an organisation of the descendants of the freedom fighters — ‘Swatantrata Sangram Senani Uttaradhikari Sangathan’ — has written to CM Adityanath demanding the installation of new statues.
In the letter, Rajiv Kumar (president) and Vijay Tanha (general secretary) of the Sangathan said that the martyrs’ statues were demolished under the cover of darkness, and within just 24 hours, those very same statues were repaired and reinstalled.
According to tradition, damaged or broken statues are not worshipped; therefore, out of respect and reverence to the martyrs, new statues should be installed, they said.
An FIR had been filed against the company on Tuesday evening over the demolition of the statues of the three freedom fighters, who hailed from Shahjahanpur.
District-level Congress leader Pawan Kumar Singh on Sunday told PTI that junior engineer Pramod Kumar and assistant engineer Manoj Kumar, who were suspended in connection with this matter based on the District Magistrate’s recommendation, were on leave at the time of the incident and their suspension is not justified.
Singh alleged that in a hasty move aimed at shielding his own officials, the District Magistrate recommended the suspension of the two engineers without ascertaining the facts. He alleged that all of this was done to divert public attention away from the matter.
Asked about the allegations made by the Congress leader, District Magistrate Dharmendra Pratap Singh said that he had not made any recommendation on his own initiative, but had merely forwarded the recommendation made by Municipal Commissioner Vipin Kumar Mishra.
However, Municipal Commissioner Vipin Kumar Mishra said that he had sent a letter to the government regarding this issue, a copy of which was also forwarded to the District Magistrate.
He said that the District Magistrate had forwarded the letter to the government on his own behalf.
Meanwhile, suspended Junior Engineer Pramod Kumar said that on the day the statues were demolished, he was on leave and staying with his children in Ghaziabad.
He pointed out that he himself does not appear anywhere in the video showing the demolition of the statues, and that the tender issued was not for breaking the statues, but rather for relocating and reinstalling them.
He said that had he been informed, he would never have allowed the statues to be broken.
Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 1925 near Kakori, Lucknow. PTI COR NAV RT RT
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