Woman jumps into fire to save house from being razed in Bhopal

BHOPAL: A 50-year-old woman made for herself a pyre and jumped into the flames to protest an anti-encroachment drive by the administration in Morena, Madhya Pradesh. She is battling for life with 50% burns.
Locals set fire to a JCB machine and wrecked the tehsildar’s car in the violence that followed.
The district administration had sent a team to raze the house of Ram Avatar in Ganpat Ka Pura village of Morena as it allegedly encroached upon land of a temple trust, said sources.The demolition team, led by a tehsildar, arrived with a JCB machine. The team faced resistance as soon as they arrived.
Ram Avatar’s wife Rajabeti piled up a stack of hay, set it on fire and before anyone could stop her, jumped into it. Violence broke out immediately. A mob damaged the tehsildar’s vehicle, torched the JCB and attacked firemen who were trying to put out both fires. In the melee, officials rescued the badly burned woman and admitted her to hospital. Locals blocked Ambah-Porsa Road, and it took a lot of persuasion by senior officials to get them disperse.
Morena SP Asit Yadav said, “The situation is completely under control. The blockade has been removed and road opened. The injured woman had been admitted at hospital where her treatment is underway.”