Thiruvananthapuram: The death of a poor couple, who succumbed to burns after accidentally immolating themselves to stop an eviction drive here, has triggered a widespread row in Kerala. The opposition parties have blamed police for the incident. Meanwhile the Kerala government said Tuesday that it will provide all help to the orphaned children for their proper upbringing.
The couple – Rajan (47) and his wife Ambili (40), natives of Nellimoodu at nearby Neyyattinkara – succumbed to burn injuries at the government medical college hospital here. Due to the burns, they suffered multiple organ failure Monday and died.
The video of the their two teenaged children – Rahul and Renjith – wailing outside the hospital for help has gone viral. In the video the children are seen pleading with the police to cremate their father at the disputed land as per his last wish.
To quell the anger of the public, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that his government will look after the children. “The government will take over their protection and other responsibilities. We will meet their educational expenses and construct a house for them,” Vijayan said in Thrissur.
The Youth Congress has already announced that they were ready to construct a house for the hapless children. The Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth arm of the ruling CPI(M),said they would meet their educational expenses.
According to police, the immolation incident occurred December 22. Police and an advocate commission appointed by a local court had gone to Rajan’s house to implement a judicial order to evict him on the complaint of a neighbour. Last June also, there was an attempt to evict the family from the disputed land.
When the police personnel approached them, Rajan had doused himself and his wife with kerosene. He warned them not to come closer. They had caught fire accidentally when a police officer tried to snatch a lighter from him.
Their children later alleged that the haste shown by the police had caused the mishap. They said the law enforces had tried to evict them even after knowing that there would be a stay order. It came soon after the tragic incident, the children told the media.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded Tuesday a probe into the alleged lapses from police during the eviction drive. Based on the complaint of human rights activist Ashwathy Jwala, the state Human Rights Commission directed the Thiruvananthapuram district police chief (Rural) to probe alleged lapses of police into the incident and submit a report within four weeks.