The Times of India    22.08.2012

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to raise Rs 3L bill for memorial damage

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is all set to recover the cost of the damaged Amar Jyoti Jawan, which was destroyed in the mob violence during the Assam protests. The civic body is likely to put up a bill to the tune of Rs 3 lakh towards the reconstruction of the historical memorial.

The bill will be handed over to the Mumbai police. Confirming the development, Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner, told TOI, "The bill is ready to be handed over to the police. The cost of the damage will be included in the panchnama." The Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act prevents the civic body from directly liasoning with the organizers of the protest. Recovery of the damages is certainly the first priority of the civic body. Mayor Sunil Prabhu said, "At this point of time, we just need to recover the cost of the damages. We have pumped in our money to restore the historical memorial."

The August 11 violence has once again brought to the fore the culture of vandalism that the city has witnessed in the past. Activist Teesta Setalvad, secretary, Citizens for Justice and Peace told TOI, "Damages should undoubtedly be claimed when violence destroys public property with culpability for the damages being pinned on the organizers. It is, however, also critical that such action is universally applied and details be made public--specifically damages for August 11 should be recovered as also for the 42 Best buses destroyed by political parties (be it SS or MNS) in earlier protests. The law must work even-handedly without fear or favour."

The memorial, which was unveiled in 2009, was erected in memory of two Indian soldiers -- Sayyed Hussein and Mangal Cadiya -- who were martyred during 1857 mutiny. During the revolt, both the sepoys were blown apart by cannon fire near Azad Maidan after they refused to follow orders from their commanding officer.

Rs 5 lakh for info on vandals

Independent MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone providing credible information to police about the vandals who desecrated the 1857 Martyrs' Memorial. Maintaining that the people who vandalized the memorial do not belong to any faith or religion, Chandrasekhar in a press release said, "The perpetrators must be apprehended at the earliest and brought to justice.

"These vandals have disgraced hundreds and thousands of people from all faiths and parts of India and those within and outside of armed forces who have served and protected the nation in time of war and in time of peace."