New Delhi, London- A young Indian man attempted to immolate himself outside a lawmaker’s office in southern India after officials demanded a 20,000-rupee (312-dollar) bribe.
The victim, identified as M. Srinivas, 25, a farmer in the Karimnagar district of Telangana state, had gone to claim land being distributed by the government to Dalit, or low-caste, underprivileged farmers.
But, the reports said the officer allegedly demanded the bribe to facilitate the land transfer, according to the German News Agency (DPA).
Srinivas and a group of villagers approached the office of the local legislator on Sunday to complain, area police Chief K. Karunakar Rao said.
He explained that they waited for hours but were told the politician could not meet him, then he got angry, doused himself with kerosene and set himself on fire.
“He is in a critical condition with 60% burns,” he said.
The government in Telangana, India’s youngest state, had announced the scheme for farmers soon after its creation in June 2014. But only 5,000 of intended 330,000 beneficiary families had been allotted land so far.
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