- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a bizarre incident, a man in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh died of severe burns after he tried to self-immolate allegedly over an argument that broke out over the rise in prices of samosas.
The incident in Annupur district of the state happened on July 22. When Bajru Jaiswal and two of his friends went to a store in Amarkantak in the district to buy samosas (a popular Indian fried snack), the shopkeeper Kanchan Sahu told them the price of two samosas had been raised from Rs 15 ($0.20) to Rs 20 ($0.26) because of inflation.
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Soon, an argument followed between the two sides and according to Ashish Bharande, a local police officer, Sahu lodged a police complaint. The police filed a case under sections 294 (obscene acts or words in public), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and started a probe, Jaiswal was also questioned by the police.
Around 10 am local time the next day, Jaiswal went to the shop again and there, he had another round of heated argument with the shopkeeper. Soon after, he allegedly poured petrol on himself and tried to set himself on fire. People rushed in from around to douse the flames and took Jaiswal to the district hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
“A probe has been ordered into the matter. Eyewitnesses have claimed that Bajru Jaiswal had allegedly poured petrol on himself and set himself afire. He was referred to hospital where he died.” Bharande said.
Relatives of the deceased man made a video of the incident and claimed that Jaiswal took the extreme step because he was being harassed by the policemen.
