Shahjahanpur (UP), March 27 Congress workers held a torch march and performed a symbolic "purification" ritual on the newly installed statues of the martyrs of the Kakori incident in Shahjahanpur, days after the idols were allegedly demolished and dumped at a garbage site, triggering outrage.
The protest came a day after the statues of the freedom fighters were reinstalled at the Town Hall tri-junction, following directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The statues of Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh, who were 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.
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.
Their statues 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 registered 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.
Congress district president Rajneesh Gupta told