Farmer sets himself ablaze in Bijnore

A farmer set himself ablaze within the premises of the DM’s office in Bijnore on Thursday after his efforts over the past year to get possession of half a bigha of land recorded in his name met with apathy from officials.

Ashok Kumar sustained severe burns and is currently in a critical condition at the Meerut Medical College Hospital.

He took the step after failing to move the officials of the Consolidation department to rectify the marking of his agricultural land in Kumharpura village in the district’s Haldaur area. He had been making rounds of the Consolidation office for over a year but his requests fell on deaf ears. During consolidation of land in his village two years ago, officials mentioned four-and-a-half bighas in Ashok’s name but gave him possession of only four bighas.