Shahjahanpur (UP), March 24 Statues of the martyrs of the Kakori train action were demolished using a bulldozer, allegedly during road beautification work by a firm in Shahjahanpur, sparking outrage from opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Tuesday, demanding action against those responsible.
The statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, were installed at the Shaheed memorial site along a road outside the municipal corporation office here and were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives. They were allegedly demolished on Sunday night.
A video purportedly showing the statues being razed and their debris dumped at a garbage site was posted on social media, drawing sharp reactions. Protests were held by the local Congress unit and a Hindu outfit.
On Tuesday evening, the Shahjahanpur Police filed an FIR against the company under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 196(2) (promoting enmity affecting harmony at religious places) and 352 (intentional insult). Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said that the municipal corporation's chief engineer lodged a complaint at Sadar Bazar police station.
Citing the FIR, he told