A young man allegedly set himself on fire in front of a tehsildar and police personnel in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district on Monday while authorities were preparing to demolish a boundary wall amid a long-running land dispute. The incident took place in Goharni village, around 7 km from the district headquarters, and a video of the incident surfaced on Wednesday.
According to the family, the man, identified as Aditya, brought a bottle of petrol from his house and poured it over himself after officials allegedly refused to halt the proposed demolition. He then set himself ablaze and, while shouting, jumped into a water-filled field. Family members and police personnel rushed to rescue him and took him to a hospital.
Doctors said Aditya had suffered burns over around 60-70% of his body and referred him to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital for further treatment.
The family alleged that revenue official Amrish Sharma had demanded Rs10 lakh to stop the action and threatened to demolish the boundary wall if the money was not paid. They also claimed the family had not been served a notice before the action.
The dispute concerns 16 bighas of land owned by 70-year-old farmer Manoj Beniwal, who has been locked in a property dispute with his elder brother’s wife since 2010.
Shamli SDM Sachin Rajput denied having any information about a bribery demand and said the allegations, along with the entire incident, would be investigated.
