Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh): An elderly man from Bachhaun village in the Chandla police jurisdiction attempted to set himself on fire by pouring petrol on himself during a public hearing on Tuesday.

The man, identified as Ramswaroop Upadhyay, reportedly has an ongoing land dispute with his family members, which he has complained about multiple times without receiving a resolution. He had come to the public hearing to submit an application, but in a moment of frustration, he poured petrol over himself and attempted to ignite it.

A security guard nearby noticed and quickly took away his matchbox, preventing the incident from escalating. The situation caused a commotion within the district administration, and Ramswaroop was taken to a room where officials discussed his issues with him for about an hour after receiving his application.

He was later sent to the district hospital for medical care via ambulance. Ramswaroop explained that he has been struggling with this issue for three years, and despite submitting approximately 20 applications to the collector through public hearings, no action has been taken so far.

Collector Parth Jaiswal stated that Ramswaroop’s application has been received and assigned to the concerned officials. He assured that appropriate steps would be taken to resolve the issue promptly according to regulations.