The pressure is mounting on the Kerala government for initiating action against police officials allegedly responsible for the death of a couple following a dispute over land.
Rajan, 47, and his wife Ambili, 40, of Neyyattinkara in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, succumbed to the burns suffered on December 22. They caught fire while staging a protest by dousing themselves in petrol when police and revenue authorities tried to evict them from their house situated around three cents of land that was caught up in an ownership dispute with neighbour.
Their two children alleged that police were responsible for the death of their parents as they caught fire when a police personal tried to snatch the lighter from Rajan's hand and Rajan had no intention to end life.
A police officer who tried to prevent the children from preparing a grave for their parents on the disputed property was also facing public ire with many strongly flaying the police on their social media page. Various political parties have also demanded the government to take action against the police personnel as well as to ensure the care of the children.
Sources said that the state may soon announce adequate compensations to the children and order high-level probe into the police action. Already Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that the children would be taken care of.
Published 30 December 2020, 16:14 IST