As many as 69 illegal statues of great men, who
over a period of time are being symbolized as representatives of particular
castes or communities have come up in the jurisdiction of Aurangabad rural
since January.
Authorities said that as a mark of supremacy and dominance in a particular
area, there has been a kind of race amongst different communities to illegally install
statues at crossroads and important junctions of towns or villages. Also, there
have been multiple incidents of people putting up flags of different colours
which symbolizes particular castes.
Only five offenses of such incidents have been registered
this year while only three illegal statues have been removed. When contacted,
district collector Sunil Chavan said, “We will not tolerate such things and
definitely strictest action against those installing illegal statues and
creating a law and order problem will be initiated.”
To bring a check to the menace which at any point of time
could trigger law and order situation, Aurangabad rural superintendent of
police Mokshada Patil recently warned of suspending policemen apart from naming
the gram sevaks and village sarpanchs as accused in the FIR if illegal statues
are found installed in their jurisdictions. But, the phenomenon is far from
over. Patil told TOI, “Despite the Covid-19 crisis, police have been active in
addressing this issue. We have had a dialogue with several stakeholders. We have
sent correspondence to ZP and the collector office for taking the necessary steps.
Police will lodge strict offenses if any illegal statue creates a dent in law
and order.”
Another police officer has blamed the Zilla Parishad,
district as well as local civic administrations for turning a blind eye to such
incidents and failing to lodge complaints. “The properties where these statues
have been illegally installed are governed either by the ZP or by the district
collectorate and, therefore, they are duty-bound for lodging a complaint. When
contacted, ZP CEO Mangesh Gondawle said, “We will definitely look into the
matter. We are ready to co-operate with the police in every possible manner in
addressing the issue.”
