His family’s resolve to into a statue of slain ravine ranger Dadua at a Hanuman temple in Fatehpur on February 14 notwithstanding, the district administration has denied permission offering that glorifying a dacoit will send the wrong message.
Dadua’s son and ruling SP legislator Veer Singh said that his family would go ahead with the installation ceremony at the temple, which the dacoit had built in Kabraha village of Hata block in Fatehpur. During his free run as the scourge of the Yamuna-Chambal ravines in the 80’s and 90’s, Dadua used to visit the temple for divine help. Singh said that statues of Dadua, his father, mother and wife would be set up in the temple. “These statues are being carved in a famous curator’s shop in Jaipur,” he said.
“It is a matter of ‘Aastha’ (faith) for me. Every son wants to worship his father. It is my personal effort and has nothing to do with any party or people,” said Singh, an MlA from Chitrakoot. The MlA claimed that SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, CM Akhilesh Yadav and cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav have been invited to attend the functions.
“locals want Dadua’s statue to be set up in the temple as they revere him for his help during crisis,” Singh said. He claimed that his father always fought for the ‘Kurmi’ community and they too have been demanding for a statue of their leader. Meanwile, a nine-day long ‘Ramkatha’ by Swami Badri Prapanacharya is also underway at the temple.
On the contrary, DM, Fatehpur, Rajiv Rautela maintained that the administration has not given permission to Dadua’s family to set up the statues in Hanuman temple.
“This has been conveyed to Dadua’s younger brother and former MP, Bal Kumar. Allowing the setting up of statues of a dacoit and his kin would set a bad precedent. We will not allow any ceremony within a two-kilometre radius of the temple,” he asserted. The DM has also sent a report to the state government in this regard.
Dadua ak Shiv Kumar Patel carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head and was shot dead in an encounter by the STF of UP Police in Chitrakoot on July 21, 2007. His volumnous criminal dossier consisted of 185 criminal cases and he was like a ‘ghost who walks’ for the UP Police as they did not have his picture. Despite spending maximum time in the jungles, Dadua had a fetish for branded clothes and shoes. After his elimination in the encounter, the raiding STF team recovered shoes of Adidas and Reebok and also Dove and Pears soaps
The king of Bundelkhand badland was known for gouging out eyes of police informers but was hailed as a messiah by the poor. Riding on public sympathy and Kurmi votes, Dadua’s brother Bal Kumar and son Veer Singh won electoral votes.