Telangana farmer tries to set MRO office staff on fire, taken into police custody

Tension prevailed at the office of the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) of Chigurumamidi mandal in Telangana's Karimnagar district, as a farmer poured petrol on employees of the office and tried to set them on fire. The farmer has been identified as 45-year-old J Kanakaiah, a resident of Lamdadipalli. The incident took place just two weeks after Abdullapurmet MRO Vijaya Reddy was murdered in a similar manner on the outskirts of Hyderabad, triggering protests across the state. Kankaiah alleged that he had been doing the rounds of the office for over a year, as he owned four acres of land and was requesting officials to issue a passbook for the same, in his name. However, officials said that owing to a dispute between him and his brother over the land, they had not issued the passbook. An irked Kanakaiah visited the revenue office with a bottle of petrol on Tuesday, which he threw on two revenue employees and some furniture and computers in the office. The staff  immediately backed away to safety even as the farmer took out a matchbox. Other revenue officials who were present at the time rushed towards him and snatched the matchbox from his hands. They informed the Chigurumamidi police, which rushed to the spot and took Kanakaiah into their custody. It was on November 4, that 37-year-old MRO Vijaya Reddy was burnt alive in her office by one K. Suresh, over a land row. While the official was charred to death, her driver who sustained burn injuries trying to save her died the next day. Suresh, who too was caught in the blaze, succumbed to his injuries a few days later. Vijaya Reddy was attacked in her office chamber during lunch hour. The Abdullapurmet mandal was carved out recently and Vijaya Reddy was its first MRO. She is survived by her husband and two children. The incident sent shock waves among the government officials and evoked all-round condemnation. Hundreds of employees had gathered in Hyderabad for Vijaya's funeral and they also abstained from work for a few days, demanding better security from the state government. IANS inputs