Karimnagar: Farmer tries to set fire to revenue staff

Karimnagar: Just a fortnight after the murderous attack on Abdullapurmet tahsildar, Ch. Vijaya Reddy, a farmer tried to set revenue department staffers alight as they had not given him his pattadar passbook.

Jeella Kanakaiah, 45, resident of Lamdadipalli, alleged that even though he was doing the rounds of the revenue office for four years now, requesting officials to issue a passbook for his four-acre piece of land, he had not got one.

Frustrated, Kanakaiah came to the revenue office with a bottle of petrol which he tried to pour on revenue department employees Jagadish and Divya. They jumped to safety and the petrol landed on the furniture in the office.

Kanakaiah took out a matchbox which he brought with him and tried to set the officials on fire. Other staff members nabbed the matchbox from his hands, sent him out of the room and informed the police.

On receiving the information, Chigurmamidi mandal sub-inspector, Madhukar Reddy, and his team, rushed to the spot and took Kanakaiah into custody.

Revenue staff members alleged that the land which Kanakaiah was claiming was in dispute between him and his brother because of which the officials did not issue the passbook.

In another incident, Mallikarjun, a retired mandal education officer of Bommakal mandal of the district, attended a grievance day programme and abused revenue officials and said all officials should be burnt alive as they were not issuing him a land passbook even though he was doing the rounds for 15 years.

Mallikarjun said he owned 3.24 acres in Bommakal mandal but the land was registered in his son's name. Mallikarjun asked officials why they had issued the passbook to his son when he was alive.

Unable to bear his abusive attack, district revenue officer Praveenya informed the police, who came to the spot and took Mallikarjun into custody. He was released after requests were made by local public representatives.