Man booked for extortion threatens selfimmolation

: High drama was witnessed in Bassi town here where a man climbed atop an overhead water tank with a bottle of petrol and threatened to set himself on fire if an extortion case lodged against him was not withdrawn. Mukesh Meena (40), against whom a case of extortion was lodged a few days ago, climbed on the tank and threatened to self-immolate. He claimed that he was not guilty in the case, SHO of Bassi police station Virendra Singh said. “We tried to pacify him but he was not ready to come down. His attention was diverted and a rescue team managed to reach him and bring him down. It took nearly three hours,” Singh said.

alleged attack on BJP MP Col. Sonaram Choudhary has triggered a caste polarisation in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, with Rajputs and Jats up in arms against each other.

Some youths allegedly attacked the Barmer MP’s vehicle on Wednesday when he was returning after attending a meeting in Chohtan block. The incident took place near Mithada village, 20 km from the district headquarters. Alleging a conspiracy against him, Choudhary said he was being targeted by a particular community, referring to Rajputs. The MP’s security guard lodged a complaint with police against some youths.

Two people, a Rajput and a Jat, have been arrested.

After the incident, Choudhary went to the sadar police station in Barmer, where his supporters gathered in large numbers. As the situation turned tensed, Barmer SP Manish Agarwal went to the police station.

Before leaving the police station, Choudhary urged his supporters not to get violent, saying police were investigating the case. But on Thursday both the communities held meetings, in which thousands of people participated.

Independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal came to Barmer to attend the meeting organised to protest the attack on Choudhary. BJP legislator from Baitu Kailash Choudhary, chairperson of Urban Improvement Trust in Barmer Priyanka Choudhary and other community leaders were also present.

Rajputs held a meeting at Rani Rupade Sansthan in Barmer. Addressing the meeting, community

JAIPUR BARMER:An