JANGAON: Alleging that a few persons were trying to grab his land and the officials were turning a blind eye to his representations in this regard, a farmer climbed atop a cell tower at Devaruppula mandal in Jangaon district and threatened to kill himself, on Tuesday.
The ryot, D Sampath, also claimed that both the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) and Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) were neglecting his complaints. According to Sampath, he and his father purchased a five-acre plot from a person named Thotakura Somaiah in 2002. The land was purchased under sada bainama mode.
After the then State government decided to regularise sada bainama category of agricultural lands in 2018, Sampath received pattadar passbook for the aforementioned plot. Meanwhile, Somaiah’s son Pandu and his associate T Sattaiah influenced local officials and got the patta cancelled.
“When I approached Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao and his wife Usha Dayakar Rao seeking justice, they directed the officials to look into the matter immediately and initiate action against the culprits. However, the officials kept on neglecting my plaints. In the meantime, Pandu and Sattaiah began trying to sell my agricultural land. I am left with no other option but to kill myself,” said a desperate Sampath. On learning about the protest, Jangaon RDO rushed to the spot, interacted with the ryot and assured that they would carry out an inquiry into the allegations.