Tribal woman set on fire, accused allegedly films incident

BHOPAL: A tribal woman was set on fire alive in the Assembly constituency of Madhya Pradesh Rural Development Minister, Mahendra Singh Sisodia by a group of village strongmen who had encroached upon agricultural land of the victim's family in Guna district of the state on Saturday afternoon.

The victim, Rampyari (38) belongs to the Saharia community, one of the three particularly vulnerable tribal group in the state. The woman is battling for her life with more than 80 per cent burn injuries.

The incident took place in Dhanoria village of Bamori tehsil in the district. The accused also reportedly filmed the incident and tried to pass it off as an attempt to kill self by the woman.

The Superintendent of Police Guna, Pankaj Shrivastava said that an FIR has been registered against Hanumat, Pratap and Shyam Kirar in various sections of IPC including for attempt to murder. The SP also said that two of the accused have been arrested so far and third one is absconding. She had been shifted to Bhopal for treatment and is in critical condition, police said.

The woman's husband Arjun Saharia complained to police that he found her lying with severe burn injuries. On being asked by her husband, the victim said that she was set on fire by the three accused.

Shrivastava also said that according to the preliminary probe, the accused had encroached upon the land of the Saharia couple and the matter had reached the court of tehsildar. In May this year, the court ruled in favour of the tribal couple and the possession of land was given to them.

However, on Saturday, when Rampyari went to the farm, she found the accused engaged in sowing activity there and tried to stop them. The accused poured diesel taken from the tractor used for cultivating and set her ablaze.

The SP added that the woman was in a critical condition and was not able to give a statement.

The couple was earlier filed a police case over land encroachment issue

Former chief minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Kamal Nath attacked the state government over continuing excesses on tribes in the state.

In a series of tweets, Nath wrote "Excesses on tribals are not stopping in Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Case of a Saharia tribal woman being set ablaze by pouring diesel has come to light in Dhanoria village of Guna. The woman is in critical condition." He also tweeted, "The husband of the woman has said that he had made an application regarding a threat to safety to police on June 23, but protection was not given."