In what would have been a case of déjà vu, Rahul Krishna, a resident at Thuruthy colony in Pappinssery panchayat, Kannur, attempted suicide by pouring petrol over himself when National Highway authorities arrived for land acquisition. After a scuffle between the locals and police, the leader of the protest group was taken into custody by the police.
Land acquisition procedures have been going on at Thuruthy colony since Thursday morning. While the plots of those who had given consent to give away their land were measured in the morning, other plots were measured in the afternoon. Rahul had poured petrol on himself when officials began measuring the land. Meanwhile Nishil Kumar, the leader of the protest group was taken into custody for assembling the group and inciting violence. A scuffle erupted between the police and the locals when the police tried to take more people into custody.
According to revenue officials, there are 29 houses in the colony, 12 of which its owners have expressed their willingness to give their land for the National Highway.
Locals however say that the consent form is forged and that by the construction of the road, their colony will disappear.
Meanwhile, one wonders if Rahul's suicide threat was an attempt at aping Rajan and Ambili's self immolation last year. On December 22, 2020, a video of Rajan and Ambili getting immolated in front of their children had gone viral. The youngsters stood witness to their parents accidently setting themselves ablaze to thwart a police bid to evict them from their house, which a local court found was built on encroached land.
