UP Police and district administration on Sunday confiscated the statue of dacoit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi before installing it.
Police and the district administration on Sunday confiscated the statue of dacoit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi ahead of its installation and did not allow Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni to exit the Varanasi airport to attend the installation ceremony, officials said. Superintendent of Police Ram Badan Singh said the statue of the former Lok Sabha MP was to be installed in Amilhara village on his death anniversary on Sunday and a platform was set up for the same. The entire event was being organized by Vikas Insaan Party (VIP) led by Mukesh Sahni, an ally of the BJP in Bihar. The VIP accused the BJP of having a “casteist mindset”.
Bhadohi Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ashish Kumar said that no permission was sought to install the idol and the land on which it was to be installed belongs to the village society.
The Bhadohi SP also said that the VIP chief and Bihar Animal and Fisheries Minister Sahni, who was coming here for the program, was not allowed to come out of the Varanasi airport and was sent back to Bihar.
The police also said that Sahni had sent the statue here and it would be sent back. Phoolan Devi, who was killed on this day in 2001, was popularly known as the “Bandit Queen”. He also served as a Member of Parliament on a Samajwadi Party ticket. He was murdered in Delhi.
Developmental Insan Party district president Ramakant Kewat said the party workers wanted to install the statue on his death anniversary on July 25, but the police took it into custody. He also said that the BJP was showing its “casteist mindset”, and added that the party would protest over the issue.
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