Statues of tribal icons vandalised again in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag, locals protest

Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Sep 2 (PTI) Statues of tribal freedom fighter brothers Sido and Kanhu in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh town were vandalised for the second time within a fortnight, prompting the local people to block a key road for several hours on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on the eve of Karma Puja, the largest festival of the tribals.

A portion of the statues on a single platform near a college here was damaged by some unidentified miscreants early on Tuesday, the police said.

The same statues were damaged around 15 days ago, but those who were behind it were not captured.

As the news spread in the area this morning, slogan shouting people in large number gathered on the spot and staged a demonstration.

They blocked PWD Chowk, located on the crossing of Sadanand Road and Korah Road here, for several hours. They lifted the blockade after the police assured them of taking action against the culprits.

People were agitating against police inaction to arrest the culprits involved in a similar incident that took place about a fortnight ago, when the miscreants also vandalised the statue of former chief minister KB Sahay near the college.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Hazaribag (HQ), Amit Kumar Anand, said Tuesday’s incident seemed to have taken place after 3:30 am as a police team found the statue in order during night patrolling.

Police suspected that some miscreants have committed the crime when rain started heavily before dawn.

The SDPO said police are trying to find out the miscreant responsible for destroying the statues of freedom fighters.

Sido and Kanhu Murmu were two brothers who led the Santhal rebellion against British rule and local landlords in 1855–56. PTI COR BS NN