Three officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s Irrigation Department have been arrested after the death of a 55-year-old man, who worked as a helper at the department office and purportedly set himself on fire due to “constant mental harassment, allegedly by some of his office seniors”, police said on Saturday.
Puran Chand from R S Pura town near Jammu was found with severe burn injuries in the fields along the Ring Road at Prithvipur village on Monday. After passersby saw him and informed police, a team reached the spot and took him to hospital, where he later succumbed to his burn injuries.
Those arrested in the case were identified as Surjeet Kumar and Ram Murti, both in-charge ziladars, as well as Girdhari Lal, who worked as amin in the Irrigation Department.
The case is being investigated by a team led by the SHO of Miran Sahib police station. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) was also called to the spot to inspect the scene and collect scientific evidence.
CCTV footage was obtained from the cameras covering the route taken by Puran Chand while travelling on a motorcycle from his home in R S Pura. As per the CCTV footage, the deceased arrived at a petrol pump in R S Pura and got a plastic container filled with petrol, police said. He then proceeded towards the area from where he was found.
On the basis of circumstantial, technical and scientific evidence, the investigation so far points to the deceased having taken the extreme step under constant mental harassment, including the withholding of a few months’ salary, by some of his seniors in office, police alleged.
While three Irrigation Department employees have been arrested so far, police said that the investigation into the matter is in progress.
