MP: Tribal woman set afire over land row critical; 5 persons arrested so far

PTI, Jul 4, 2022, 1:19 PM IST

The condition of a tribal woman, who was set ablaze allegedly by three persons over a land dispute in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district, continues to be critical, a police official said on Monday.

The police have so far arrested five persons, including two women, in this connection, he said.

“The condition of the woman, Rampyari Bai (45), continues to be critical. She is undergoing treatment at the government-run Hamidia Hospital in the state capital Bhopal,” sub-divisional officer of police Yuvraj Singh said.

The incident had taken place on Saturday afternoon in Dhanoria village under Bamori police station limits, located around 200 km from Bhopal, the official said.

A video, purportedly shot by the accused, had also surfaced on social media platforms, wherein the charred woman was seen crying in pain, with smoke all around her.

The person shooting the video was heard saying the woman had set herself ablaze, and “let us shoot the video”.

Guna Superintendent of Police Pankaj Shrivastava said the woman’s husband, Arjun Saharia, had in a police complaint said when he reached his agricultural field on Saturday afternoon, he found his wife there with several burn injuries.

When he asked his wife about it, she told him that she was set on fire by three persons, identified as Pratap Dhakad (35), Shyam Dhakad (35) and Hanumat Dhakad (25), the official said.

The police on Sunday arrested the three men and two women – Avanti Bai (50) and Sudama Bai (35) – in connection with the incident, he said.

A case was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), and relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said.

The complainant told the police that the accused had forcibly usurped his land, which was freed by the local administration in May this year and handed over to him, he said.