Jamshedpur: A day after the vandalism of a statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda in Sunday Market, Birsanagar, local gram sabha members and various organizations including political parties put up demonstration in the city demanding restoration of the monument to its original look and arresting of the culprits.
The protestors comprising members of the local gram sabha said the statue was deliberately destroyed by anti-social elements with the purpose of hurting the sentiments of the Adivasis and others who held Bhagwan Birsa in high esteem. They said the district administration should conduct a probe to trace the culprits and prosecute them to prevent repetition of such incidents.
Hundreds of people comprising a majority of Adivasis had yesterday put up a similar protest at Sunday Market after parts of the statue were found broken in the evening. The hand of the statue was missing and the bow and arrow were also vandalized.
Members of Birsa Seva Dal Panchayat Samiti led by the outfit general secretary Jaisingh Munda and president Kunjal Lakra demanded that the DC should visit the site and inspect the statue. He said the monument land should be measured and entered into government khatiyan in case it is not updated.
He further said that a boundary wall should be constructed to protest the monument and electricity supply should be given to the monument site.
In view of the ongoing protests, the sub divisional officer of Dhalbhum Prem Ranjan along with senior police officials reached the site of vandalism and held talks with the protestors. He assured the protestors to take action against the guilty without delay. The SDO ordered measurement of the land by an amen (government land measuring officer) on the spot.
Among others who protested the vandalism included the MP of Jamshedpur Vidyut Varan Mahato, MLA of Jamshedpur East Raghuvar Das, MLA of Jamshedpur West Banna Gupta, district Congress president Vijay Khan, senior Congress leader Ramashraya Prasad, JVM leader Abhay Singh and district JMM president Ramesh Hansda.
