In The Name Of Beautification: Statues of Kakori Freedom Fighters Bulldozed in Shahjahanpur 

On the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished using bulldozers in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur.

Bismil, Khan, and Singh, who were born in Shahjahanpur, were freedom fighters executed by the British on December 19, 1927, for their role in the Kakori train robbery of August 1925 near Lucknow, in which government funds were looted.

The bulldozer action has sparked anger among local residents and opposition leaders, leading to sit-in protests.

The demolition was reportedly carried out as part of a reconstruction and beautification plan, but locals have objected to the manner in which it was executed. "They cordoned off the area at night and bulldozed the statues, which could have been carefully removed and reinstalled elsewhere," said Udit Sharma, a resident of Shahjahanpur.

Sharma further alleged that the damaged statues were later discarded at a garbage site, which has enraged the locals. "The statues held sentimental values to the people, they  could have been handed over or disposed of in a proper way," Sharma added. The statues, located in a Municipal council area, were a site of reverence and regularly visited by politicians coming to the city. They were also garlanded on Independence Day and Republic Day.

The purported videos of the statues in the dumping ground have made rounds on social media. Akhilesh Yadav, the national president of the Samajwadi Party, took to X, stating that beauty can never be greater than the honour and respect of martyrs.

"Running a bulldozer over the statue of martyrs in Shahjahanpur under the pretext of beautification is a sign of a diseased mentality," he added.

"On Shaheed Diwas, March 23, we went to pay our respects at the site and were shocked to find the statues demolished," district Congress Committee president Rajneesh Gupta told Outlook. He added, "These statues have stood here since 1951; this is a deeply disrespectful way to treat our freedom fighters."

The party has demanded that the administration return the remains of the statues, stating that  Khan’s statue should be accorded a burial with due respect, while the statues of  Singh and Bismil should be immersed in the Ganga with full honours.

"They were a great example of Hindu-Muslim unity for our country," he added.

Ashit Pathak, an advocate and coordinator of the Rashtra Swabhiman Trust, also organising the protests, said the figures were allegedly bulldozed due to the negligence of the firm tasked with the beautification work. "The mayor of the municipality claims that the statues were torn down at night without her knowledge, and now everyone is shifting responsibility," he alleged.

However, he added that for such an act to occur on a day dedicated to martyrs reflects a "twisted mentality" and amounts to a national insult.

On Tuesday evening, Shahjahanpur Police registered an FIR against the company under relevant sections 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 the complaint was filed by the municipal corporation's chief engineer at the Sadar Bazar police station, PTI reported.

Referring to the FIR, Dwivedi told PTI that beautification work was underway at the Shaheed memorial site near Town Hall, and the statues of the martyrs were supposed to be moved to a newly constructed pedestal as part of the project. The work was being carried out by the firm Infratech, he added.

Dwivedi explained that while the firm had been assigned tasks behind the statues, they were removed on Sunday night without informing the concerned department.