Bhopal: Apparently upset over the proposed land acquisition for a power plant, a farmer's wife identified as Sunia allegedly set herself on fire by pouring kerosene on Diwali night in Dongaria village of Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district. The farmers staged a protest with her body on Thursday.
The police forcibly took away the body and cremated it after resorting to lathicharge on the farmers. In a related incident another farmer, Pyare Lal Choudhary, also tried to kill himself after drinking poison.
Residents of Katni’s Bujbuja Dokaria village are protesting against acquisition of land for the construction of a private power plant. The villagers allege that the SDM and a police inspector had threatened Sunia and her husband that if they don’t vacate the land, then bulldozers would be used to raze their house.
According to Sunia’s husband Chhaka Gadari, the tehsildar and SDO were threatening them regularly following which his committed suicide by setting herself on fire. According to Gadari he would lose his land and house if the acquisition took place.
Meanwhile, Pyare Lal Choudhary who is admitted in Katni district hospital said that his land was fertile and irrigated, but the compensation he had been offered was for a non-irrigated land. The Madhya Pradesh government has ordered a probe into the alleged suicide by Sunia.
Welspun Energy Limited is setting up a 1800 MW power plant in the area at a cost of Rs 10,000 for which the company needs 1300 acres of land. So far the company has got 800 acres, out of which 264 acres has been given by the government and 539 acres bought directly from the farmers. The company needs 500 acres more to set up the plant.
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