In yet another volatile incident at an MRO (Mandal Revenue Officer) office in Andhra Pradesh, a man in Guntur district brought petrol to the office, threatening to hurt himself unless his grievances were resolved. The incident occurred at the Mangalagiri Tahsildar office on Monday during the Spandana program, according to ToI.
Spandana is a weekly program held in government offices where the public can directly approach officials with their grievances.
According to Deccan Chronicle, the man named Siva Koteswara Rao, who belonged to Chinakakani village, had had his land acquired for the expansion of a highway by the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India). He has reportedly been waiting for four years for the passbook related to the land that he purchased in place of the acquired land.
Mangalagiri Tahsildar Ramprasad told ANI that the passbook has been delayed as records related to the land acquired for the highway were yet to be received from the NHAI. With Sivakoti threatening to take drastic measures by showing the petrol bottle, officials and police officers reportedly counselled him, telling him that his grievances will be addressed soon.
Ever since MRO Vijaya Reddy was set on fire and murdered on the outskirts of Hyderabad, MRO offices in both Telugu states have turned into volatile spaces. Vijaya Reddy was burnt alive in her office by K Suresh over an ongoing land dispute. While the official was charred to death, her driver, who sustained burn injuries while trying to save her, succumbed the next day. Suresh, who was also on fire, succumbed a few days later. The ghastly attack has created fears in the minds of revenue officials, who deal with land issues.
Earlier, in a similar instance, a couple stormed into the MRO office in Allagadda of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, carrying a bottle of petrol and pesticide. The couple threatened to kill themselves unless their land dispute was resolved. In Chittoor district, a family of five allegedly threatened to kill themselves at the MRO office over discrepancies in the issuing of a pattadar passbook for a piece of land that the family had been cultivating for years.