Police foil immolation bid in Salem

It is said Jayanti (24) wife of Bhagat Singh (30) from Thalavaipatty near Salem came to the Collector’s office with her two-year-old child and five-month-old baby. All of a sudden, she took out a can of kerosene and poured it on her and the children. Acting swiftly, the cops, who were deployed on duty poured water on them.

Police then took Jayanti to the Salem town women police station for an inquiry. It is said that Jayanti had an inter-caste marriage with Bhagat Singh, a lorry driver and the couple was residing in Thalavaipatty.

She alleged that her husband had developed an affair with another woman and had left her in the lurch. “He has not visited my house for nearly seven months now. I am penniless and unable to bring up the children,” she wailed.

Jayanti said that she had decided to take the extreme step as several complaints made by her to the police had not yielded any result.

The suicide bid brought back stark memories of a family killing themselves recently at the Tirunelveli collector’s office.