Rajnath speaks to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over alleged 'thrashing' of Galwan martyr's father

Rajnath Singh. File Pic

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday spoke with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the alleged thrashing of the father of a Galwan martyr, in Vaishali, sources said.

The jawan, identified as Jai Kishore Singh, was one of 20 soldiers who laid down their lives in a clash with the Chinese PLA troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in 2020.

The Defence minister condemned and expressed his displeasure over the alleged incident, sources said.

Earlier, the brother of the Galwan Valley martyr had alleged that the Bihar Police ordered them to take down a memorial built in honour of the fallen soldier, claiming that it was raised on private and government land, thereby amouting to encroachment.

He claimed that the police threatened to dispose the bust of the slain braveheart into the waters if the family did not comply.

The kin had earlier alleged that the martyr's father was thrashed and arrested by the police for building a memorial for his son on encroached land at Jandaha in Bihar's Vaishali.

"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 it in the waters if we do not comply," Nand Kishore, brother of the slain jawan Jai Kishore, told ANI on Tuesday.

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Manju Devi, the mother of the fallen soldier said 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 came and took away my husband. They manhandled him and didn't even inform us of his arrest or the legal action being taken against him. They repeatedly threatened us with consequences if we do not remove the memorial," the jawan's mother told ANI.

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 their own land or seek 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 personnel," Nand Kishore said.

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