A six-member family allegedly threatened to commit suicide outside Karnataka Assembly today, demanding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meet them and take action against a retired police officer for allegedly 'harassing' them in a property dispute.
Vidhan Soudha inspector Laxman Kumar said the family members arrived at the spot at about 8.00 AM in a van, locked themselves in and threatened to set themselves ablaze, demanding that Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K J George meet them and take action against retired ACP Subbanna, who had allegedly been harassing them for the last four years over the dispute.
However, police on duty thwarted their attempt to immolate themselves using petrol, he said.
The family on being questioned alleged that Subbanna had been interfering in the dispute and was supporting some of their other relatives who were against the deal.
However, Subbanna told reporters he has not done so, but only advised them to settle the matter out of court.
"I told them that I cannot do much in this case as it is a civil dispute and advised them to arrive at an out-of-court settlement," he said.
The family thereafter frequently started coming to the police station and his house at Tumkur, asking him to solve the dispute, Subbanna said. "They are needlessly dragging my name into the matter," he added.
The occupants of the car were a 38-year-old man Bhupati, his wife, their teenaged daughter and minor son and two old people, police said.
Bhupathi claimed the family had met various police officers and some ministers to solve the dispute, but to no avail.
The family, barring the old people, had consumed poison at the DGP office here in June 2013 over the same issue.