Ara: A man covered a statue of Veer Kuer Singh at Jagdishpur Fort on Thursday with a black cloth in protest against the Bhojpur district administration's decision to shift the Vijayotsava or victory day of the freedom fighter from Jagdishpur to Dulaur. In the process, a portion of the statue was allegedly broken.
Babloo Singh, 35, claimed to be the son of late Vijay Singh and a scion of Veer Kuer Singh, also got some photographs clicked with the help of his friend.
He allegedly said the district administration had neglected Jagdishpur, where the freedom fighter was born.
Assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Manjeet Singh, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Kumar Pankaj, block development officer (BDO) Prabhakar Kumar and Jagdishpur police station house officer Arvind Kumar rushed to the spot and arrested Babloo.
ASP Manjeet said Babloo had been sent to jail several times for drinking liquor.
He said the police arrested Babloo but his friend managed to escape.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar is scheduled to inaugurate the three-day celebration on April 23.
Local sources said liquor is easily available in Jagdishpur and the police are silent spectators. Jagdishpur police SHO Arvind Kumar, refused to comment when asked about the allegations.
Later, the officials got the statue repaired and banned public entry near the statue till April 23. The district administration is preparing to celebrate the three-day Vijayotsava from April 23 to 25.
The district administration had decided to celebrate the Vijayotsava at an estimated cost of Rs 24 crore at Dulaur, around 1km from Jagdishpur, the birthplace of Veer Kuer Singh.
Jagdispur BDO Prabhakar said the venue was shifted to Dulaur as Jagdishpur does not have sufficient space and also because the place has a historical importance - Veer Kuer Singh fought against the British in Dulaur.
Jagdishpur SDM Pankaj reached Dalippur village under Jagdishpur police station on Friday to meet the descendants of Veer Kuer Singh who registered their protest against negligence of the Dalippur Fort.
Kuer Sanjeet Singh, however, expressed happiness over the government's grand celebration plans for the Vijayotsava.
