Farmer Attempts Self-Immolation During Public Hearing Over Land Dispute In MP's Neemuch

Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh: During a public hearing, a farmer named Heeralal Malviya attempted self-immolation by dousing himself with diesel. The distressing act occurred at the collector's office, causing panic among officials and visitors. Malviya, who resides in Kanjarda of Manasa tehsil, claimed he had been complaining about a land dispute for some time without any resolution.

He accused another individual of occupying approximately 12 aari of his land in Survey No 702 and commencing construction using a fraudulent survey number. Malviya, whose land spans 0.117 hectare, accused lower-level revenue officials of presenting an inaccurate account of the facts. He repeatedly requested public hearings to halt the construction and resolve the dispute.

However, Manasa Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kiran Anjana stated that the disputed land had already been demarcated seven times. According to Anjana, revenue officials, following the collector's orders, conducted multiple measurements in the farmer's presence and discovered that he had already been occupying his legally recognized land.

The SDM emphasized that the administration could not grant him possession beyond the area legally recorded to him. She also mentioned that the issue had been taken to court, where the farmer's case was rejected. Police personnel swiftly intervened, safely removing the diesel and restoring order.