Raigarh: Unidentified persons took away the “state flag” from erstwhile Sarangarh state’s Girivilas Palace and hoisted a ‘saffron’ flag atop in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. Raja Naresh Chandra Singh, a former chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, belonged to the Sarangarh princely state and was the only tribal chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
“We have not removed the flag from the building and are waiting for police to arrive,” the family member added. “For the last couple of days, we were noticing the presence of some youth wearing saffron bands in the area and initially we thought that they have come to the nearby temple. Yesterday, a youth trespassed into the building, climbed atop and put up a saffron flag. The old flag has also disappeared,” he added.
Sarangarh royal family has a long association with the Congress. Raja Naresh Chandra Singh, a tribal leader, was the chief minister during undivided Madhya Pradesh while several members of the family had represented the assembly and parliament.
Indian Youth Congress secretary Kulisha Mishra, a member of the family, said that there was no theft and no damage was caused to the palace. “It appears that the incident was apparently aimed at sending out some political message,” Mishra added. She said the police have finally swung into action and an FIR has been registered at Sarangarh police station. Police personnel have visited the palace to start preliminary investigations.