‘Father Thrashed, Abused for Building Galwan Martyr’s Memorial’, Alleges Kin; Cops Say ‘Arrest as per Law’

Raj Kapoor Singh, the father of a martyr — the late sepoy Jai Kishore Singh, who sacrificed his life in the 2020 Galwan Valley clash — was allegedly thrashed and arrested by the police on Saturday over a land dispute to build a memorial for his son in Bihar’s Vaishali district, his other son Nand Kishore Singh, also an Army man, has alleged.

SP Maneesh, the superintendent of Vaishali Police, however, maintained that there was “no assault” as alleged by the family and “the arrest was carried out in accordance with the law”.

THE ISSUE

Harinath Ram and Singh share the boundary of their land in Chakfateh village, with the Bihar government’s land in front of theirs. Several ministers from the Bihar government, Union government and Opposition leaders had visited the family after Jai’s death and announced that a memorial would be built in his name. However, no land was allocated.

The villagers then decided to construct the memorial on the government land, to which complainant Harinath objected. A panchayat was called in, where Jandaha Block’s circle officer, who looks after the land records, agreed to build the memorial on the said land. It was agreed that Singh would buy the land in the vicinity and give it to Harinath, and the latter would vacate the piece he owns.

The construction work started thereafter, but as the structure was nearing completion, Harinath again started to object and filed a case against Singh under the SC/ST Act on January 23. The first information report (FIR), accessed exclusively by CNN-News18, mentions section 323, 504, 384, 188, 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

On February 25, around 11.40pm, Singh was arrested. The family members alleged he was thrashed multiple times, choicest abuses were hurled while police officials forcibly took him to the police van. Moreover, the family members also alleged that he was assaulted in the police station. The family has alleged that a false case was slapped against Singh and SC/ST Act was being misused.

THE COMPLAINANT’S VERSION

Harinath’s son Manoj Kumar, speaking to our sources, said, “Raj Kapoor Singh 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 Jai Kishore’s name. He was our brother too,”

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.”

THE PATRIOTIC FATHER

In June 2020, in the violent face-off with Chinese forces at Galwan valley near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), 20 Indian Army jawans, including a Colonel, lost their lives.

After Jai’s death, Singh, while speaking to the media, said, “I got a call a month ago. My son said that they are being deployed up in the mountains. If there is no cell tower there, we will not be able to talk. He said we could talk after he came back. But the call never came. Instead, on Wednesday morning, my family was told that my son was seriously injured. Two hours later, they told us he was dead.”

Singh had said he wanted a memorial to be erected in his son’s memory, and a public place to be named after him. “My son is gone, but his memory should remain. It will help us live for the rest of our lives,” he said. “My two sons are also ready to join the Forces and serve the nation.”

When asked why he would send his two other sons after losing Jai, he said, “Why should I be scared? Will you not fight if you get the opportunity? Would you leave without a fight?”

BROTHER’S VERSION

Nand Kishore Singh, who is serving in the Indian Army currently, in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18, said, “When my brother sacrificed his life, all leaders from every party gave us an assurance that they would support us . But no one has come today to see my mother, who is shocked after my father’s arrest. My father was honoured by the SHO at that time and now the same Bihar Police has dragged and abused him while taking him to jail. While serving in the Army, I was assured that the police administration and others will take care of my family, but after this incident, I am devastated.”

OPPOSITION’S VERSION

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Guru Prakash questioned the approach and attitude of the state government towards the martyrs. He mentioned an “uncharitable” remark made against the Indian Army by a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) minister a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Guru Prakash said, “What sort of mentality is this? This is the respect you have for the family of a man who made the supreme sacrifice. This is deeply unfortunate. Whatever is the case, no police in the world has the right of vigilantism. We are going to register our protest.”

MAHAGATHBANDHAN ‘MUM’

Despite several attempts, no leader in the government assured any action.

When CNN-News18 questioned finance minister Vijay Chaudhary, he preferred to move without speaking on this issue. All he said was that, he was unaware of the incident and he was busy working on Bihar’s budget.

After the incident, a Subedar rank officer of the Indian Army visited Jai’s village, met the family, and assured them all possible assistance. The Army officer also took stock of the case from Jandaha SHO.

The martyr’s family have the support of locals and the Bajrang Dala also held a protest to support them.

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