Farmer set on fire or attempted self-immolation? Sarpanch, family members booked as police probe conflicting claims in Gujarat’s Anand

Bharat stated to the police that he was confronted by the sarpanch, her husband Dinesh, her sons Rajesh and Nilesh, and her nephew, who assaulted him with sticks.

The Anand district police in Gujarat Monday began a probe into the incident of a 54-year-old farmer allegedly being set on fire in the Ambav village of the Anklav taluka following a dispute with the village sarpanch and her family over a complaint of alleged corruption.

While the police initially filed an FIR for attempted murder against five people, including Sarpanch Kokila Padhiyar, her husband and sons, they later said a primary probe of video footage of the incident revealed that it was “an act of self-immolation by the victim”.

The alleged incident occurred on Sunday, when the victim, Bharat Padhiyar, was moving about in his village for personal work. Bharat stated to the police that he was confronted by the sarpanch, her husband Dinesh, her sons Rajesh and Nilesh, and her nephew, who assaulted him with sticks.

“They took me to the crossroads of the village and assaulted me. While Kokila held me, her son Nilesh poured petrol on me and Rajesh lit a match to set me on fire. Dinesh kicked me, and they fled from the scene while the fire engulfed me,” Bharat said in a statement to the media from SSG Hospital in Vadodara, where he was shifted Monday for treatment of serious burn injuries.

H Vaghela, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP), Petlad division, who has additional charge as DYSP Borsad division, said CCTV footage, as well as mobile phone videos and accounts of eyewitnesses, revealed that Bharat attempted self-immolation.

Vaghela said, “There is clear CCTV footage showing the accused pouring fuel on himself and attempting self-immolation while the accused are seated inside their vehicle at the spot. We lodged an FIR based on his statement, but the probe will proceed based on the primary evidence available. We will look into the case of the animosity between the victim and the accused, and if any action of the accused led the victim to attempt the extreme step.”

Vaghela added that the accused and Bharat had been involved in spats due to a complaint filed by the latter against the sarpanch and her husband for alleged corruption in the village.

In his statement from the hospital bed to the media, Bharat said, “There is corruption in our village projects. I filed a complaint with the district development officer, taluka development officer, development commissioner and the chief minister about 10 days ago.”

“But since no department took action, I spoke about it publicly, and Dinesh Padhiyar threatened me immediately. More people came to me and threatened to kill me… They accosted me while I was out to complete some domestic chores,” he alleged.