Complainant sets herself on fire, dies

PUDUCHERRY: A 35-year-old woman, who doused petrol on herself and set herself on fire in a police station in Puducherry, died due to the injuries on Thursday.

Police said C Kalaiselvi from Kalapet gave Rs five lakh for interest to E Rajakumari from the same locality four years ago and was receiving interest every month. Rajakumari did not pay interest for the past few months and when Kalaiselvi demanded her to return the money, she approached Kalapet police station.

Police summoned Kalaiselvi and her husband Chandran and questioned them for pressuring Rajakumari to return the money. Humiliated at the police station, Kalaiselvi went out and fetched a can of petrol kept in her moped, entered the station, doused petrol and set her on fire. She sustained severe burn injuries and was rushed to a private medical college hospital. She was referred to Jipmer where she succumbed to the injuries. Kalapet police station sub-inspector Ilango and assistant sub-inspector Nagaraj were transferred to Puducherry armed police force for failing to handle the case properly.

Chief minister N Rangasamy on Thursday announced a solatium of ₹20 lakh to the family of the woman. A retired employee of a cooperative society, who full pension after an audit in society found misappropriation of funds, attempted to die by suicide by setting him ablaze in front of the Pondicherry State Co-operative Consumers' Federation Limited 's (Confed) office in the town limits to press the government to provide him full pension.