BHOPAL: In an incident resembling the attempted suicide by a landless Dalit couple in Guna district on July 14, a woman allegedly attempted to ‘immolate herself’ to stop a revenue department team from destroying standing soybean crop to create a passage in a village in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.
The incident happened on Tuesday in Atwas village under Satwas police station area of Dewas district, when a revenue department team went to create a passage through the standing soybean crop.
Opposition Congress was quick to raise the matter as MPCC president and ex-CM Kamal Nath tweeted the video of the woman attempting self-immolation to protest the crushing of standing crop by JCB machine. However, Dewas district collector Chandramauli Shukla claimed that the woman’s husband tried to set her ablaze for attempting to obstruct the government work.
According to Shukla, the entire matter pertained to creating a passage between the agricultural fields of two cousins Ramzan Khan and Mehmood Khan. The concerned parties had mutually agreed before the revenue court to allow for the passage. and the revenue department team escorted by police went to Atwas village on Tuesday.
However, sources said that one of the cousins, Ramzan Khan changed his mind on the mutual agreement. He subsequently brought his wife to the fields and set her scarf on fire.
The on-duty Patwari rushed to save the woman, but the government team was attacked by Ramzan’s kin, who also injured the Patwari.
“The woman, who sustained five percent burns is stated to be out of danger and a case of rioting has been lodged against the 11 persons for assaulting the government team,” the Dewas collector maintained.
However, the woman’s husband Ramzan alleged that he was not present at the spot when the incident happened. “My wife attempted suicide, after seeing the standing soybean crop crushed by the government team with JCB machine.,” he alleged.
On July 14, a Dalit couple had attempted suicide by consuming pesticide, when a government team ran JCB machine on standing crop planted by the family in Guna district. The government team had gone to clear the encroachment on the government land, which was allocated for a model science college.
The couple was farming on the land rented to them by land shark Gabbu Pardi.
The police had also brutally assaulted the Dalit couple when they resisted police from taking them in an ambulance to the hospital and even beat up their kin, besides pushing and abusing their kids.
Acting in the matter, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had removed the district collector and SP of Guna district, besides also removing IG-Gwalior. Six cops were later suspended in the matter and a magisterial probe was ordered into the entire incident.