Sagar bandh over PTA president’s death

Sagar, Jan 14: A bandh was observed at Sagar on Monday, after the death of a parent-teacher association dalit president, who committed self-immolation a week back in front of local Bharatiya Janata Party MP's 'janata darbar'. Congress leaders have lashed out at the government over the death of PTA President.

Bhagwanganj locality-resident Shivprasad Ahirwar took the extreme step at Veerendra Kumar's darbar on January 7 in the context of his long pending demand for a school building. He was rushed to Bhopal for treatment and died on Sunday night at Hamidia hospital, Bhopal. Ahirwar was agitating over the past one-and-a-half years in support of his demand. The state government earlier directed the divisional commissioner to probe the incident. State's main opposition Congress and locals took out a procession in the town and staged a demonstration. In a symbolic gesture, National Students' Union of India workers locked Kumar's office that was already locked beforehand. Police foiled the suicidal attempt of a youth named Purushottam Ahirwar alias Parsoti, who tried to hang himself from a pole in Bhagwanganj area this morning but his attempt.

Jamuna Devi, Leader of Opposition has charged the Sagar MP and local administration for being responsible for the death, as they failed to act despite having prior information from the deceased. Expressing grief over the incident, she has demanded judicial inquiry in the matter and compensation for the aggrieved family. Former Minister and Congress leader Ajay Singh has said that this incident has broken all the records of atrocities and repressions.  He charged that Ahirwar’s death shows that as to how the BJP government is busy fulfilling its own interests, while ignoring the problems of the general public. The Congress has formed a committee -- headed by former minister Vitthalbhai Patel -- to inquire into the incident.