Mahesh Acharya

In an incident that sent shockwaves across India and Nepal, five members of a Nepali speaking family based in the Indian state of Gujarat set themselves on fire on Wednesday. They apparently feared being forcefully evicted by the local authorities from the place they had been living in for nearly four decades. Originally from Accham district in Nepal, the family had been living in Chhotu Nagar under the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), according to their relatives. While three of the persons died of the burn injuries, two others are critical and struggling for their lives in a hospital in Rajkot. The dead have been identified as Bharat Biswokarma Lohar, his wife Aasha and his brother Girish. 

According to Girish’s brother-in-law, Suresh Biswokarma, the injured are Basumati, Bharat’s mother, and Rekha, the wife of Bharat’s youngest brother. Following a dispute over the plot of land on which the family had a house, the matter was in the local court since the past one year. The Biswokarma family had visited the RMC office on Wednesday to discuss the matter. According to Dambar Rawal, central member of the Nepali Prabasi Sangh, the family members poured kerosene on themselves and set themselves ablaze at the corporation office. He added that the family took this extreme measure as they feared being evicted by the local authorities. However, RMC commissioner Ajay Bhadoo denied the accusation. “Members of the Chhotu Nagar Cooperative Housing Society had complained to the RMC about removing the encroachment (their house) from a plot. We had issued a notice and given enough time to them to respond, but we did not initiate any step to remove the encroachment as the matter was pending in the court,” The Times of India quoted Bhadoo as saying. However, the Post’s attempt to contact the RMC official concerned and the local police failed. Local police refused to talk about the incident over the phone and demanded this correspondent visit Rajkot for more information. Meanwhile, the Nepali Embassay in New Delhi said it is following the incident closely. “It has been understood that the persons are Nepalis, but we are yet to confirm if they are Nepali citizens. They have been residing in Rajkot for four decades,” sources at the embassy told the Post. The family took the extreme measure fearing forceful eviction

Originally from Accham district in Nepal, the family had been living in Chhotu Nagar in Rajkot for the past four decades

Published on: 5 April 2013 | The Kathmandu Post