Two women attempt suicide at public hearings in MP

Bhopal: In separate incidents, two women made suicide bids during public hearings at government offices in Madhya Pradesh's Betul and Sagar districts on Tuesday, police said.

While a woman consumed poison at the office of Betul superintendent of police, another woman poured inflammable substance on herself at Sagar but was stopped in time.

`Jan-Sunwai' or public hearings are organised at the offices of district collectors and superintendents of police across the state on every Tuesday.

A woman who had come with a complaint consumed a poisonous substance at the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Betul. She was rushed to hospital and was stated to be out of danger, said SP Nischal Jharia.

The woman had got an FIR registered against four persons on August 24 and another FIR against two other persons on September 16, the official said, adding that investigation was complete in both the cases, and a challan or charge sheet will be presented in the court soon.

The woman alleged that she was being harassed by some persons, and her shanty was removed by the forest department after declaring it encroachment.

A fake `land patta' (land record) was prepared, she alleged. Action will be taken if her allegations were found to be true, the police official said.

In Sagar, a woman poured inflammable substance on herself but government employees caught hold of her before she could set herself on fire.

She had been seeking to change her surname in a marksheet for eight years but her complaint was not heard by the district education officer, the woman alleged.

In-charge district education officer Arvind Jain told reporters that the woman's name was entered as Radha Saur in all her marksheets and she wanted to change it to Yadav. The High Court had given a direction to the secretary to take a decision in this regard in April this year, he said.

A caste name can not be changed at his level, the official said.