A retired tahsildar, who was upset over police not taking action against gangsters, who forced him out of his house, along with his family attempted self-immolation at the Tiruvannamalai collectorate on Monday.
Ilangovadi (65), a retired special tahsildar, came to the Collectorate with his daughter Chitra (40), son Rajasekar (34), daughter-in-law Gayathri (25) and granddaughter Taniushree (5). Later they poured kerosene on themselves and attempted self-immolation.
But, the alert policemen present on the collectorate threw water on them and foiled their attempt.
Ilangovadi said that a man identified as Kumaresan sold a TN Housing Board house in Tamarai Nagar some years ago for Rs 1.35 lakh. After receiving the money and handing over the original house deed, Kumaresan had promised to give him the allotment order once the loan dues were paid.
Meanwhile, he had sold the same house to another person and demanded Ilangovadi to vacate the house. He had also come to his house with around 30 gangsters on October 13 and threw out their household articles. “The gangsters also forced me and my family members out of the house, he said.
Despite lodging a complaint with the Tiruvannamalai town police, no action was taken against Kumaresan, he claimed.
Ilangovadi then handed over a petition to district Collector KS Kandasamy in person and was later taken to the town police station for further enquiry.