CHENNAI: A 71-year-old woman, who was allegedly ill-treated by staff at the Revenue Divisional Office in Guindy, attempted to self immolate on Monday. The victim, J Devaki from Guindy, had divorced her husband in 1995.
A year later, Devaki’s former husband had sold a land owned by Devaki to another person. The land in dispute is in Iyyappanthangal and as per jurisdiction, it comes under the Guindy RDO.
“After years of fighting in court, the issue had reached the RDO but he was deliberating on it for over a year. On Monday, when my grandmother reached the office, one of the staff chased her away. When she insisted on meeting the RDO and stepped towards the room, the staff twisted her arms,” said K Dharani, granddaughter of Devaki, who was assisting her.
Thereafter, Devaki bought kerosene and tried to self-immolate in front of the building but she was saved. The RDO was not available for comment. (Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104).