7 Try To Set Themselves On Fire During Land Allotment Hearing In Madhya Pradesh, Saved

Six women and a young man on Tuesday unsuccessfully tried to set themselves on fire during a public hearing in the office of the Gwalior collector over the allotment of land, an official said.

However, security guards present in the hall overpowered them after they doused themselves with kerosene and tried to light a match stick.

"We were living on the land on which the district panchayat building was constructed in Sirol area in Gwalior for a long time but the administration forced us to vacate and allotted us another land which is not safe as it is surrounded by musclemen," one of the aggrieved women, Geeta Morya, told reporters.

She alleged the administration has failed to act on their plea in the last ten months, which forced them to try to commit suicide.

They demanded the administration allot them another piece of land.

However, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) HB Sharma said the family of one Kadam Singh has encroached upon the government land and even after the construction of the district panchayat building they did not vacate and started living in its basement.

The administration is once again looking into their issue and is examining the land allotted to them on the lease, he added.

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