ANANTAPUR: The body of a 70-year-old woman was taken to the tahsildar office in Bathalapalli by her daughters as a mark of protest on Tuesday.
The family blamed revenue officials for the death of the woman as she was not issued the pattadar passbook for land. While the revenue office door was closed, some activists forcibly opened it and took the body into the tahsildar’s chamber.
K. Peddanna of Jalalapuram village in Bathalapalli mandal died seven years ago. He had owned about five acres of land. His wife Lakshmi Devi gave an application at the tahsildar office seeking pattadar pass book in her name as the heir.
Revenue officials delayed issuing of the passbook for seven years. Even as the Dharmavaram revenue divisional officer had issued a directive to clear the pending matter, the tahsildar ignored this.
Lakshmi Devi had three daughters -- Rathnamma, Nagendramma and Lingamma. She was residing at elder daughter Nagendramma’s house at Navodaya Colony in Anantapur. Lakshmi Devi died on Tuesday due to some serious illness.
Angered with the revenue authorities over their irresponsible style of functioning, the daughters Nagendramma and Rathnamma engaged an ambulance and took the body directly to the tahsildar office.
By the time they reached the tahsildar office, its main gate and doors were closed by the staff. The tahsildar was on leave. Activists forcibly opened the doors, took the body into the office and kept it on a table at the chamber.
Even as the staff tried to prevent them, the daughters the daughters and activists lay the on the table and shouted slogans against the tahsildar and other revenue staff.
“Even though our mother was healthy with no complications, she died after being hurt by the revenue department. We brought the body here to expose the rotten system and injustice being done by officials to the poor people,” Lakshmi Devi's daughters alleged. They also tried to set themselves ablaze by dousing petrol on their body in protest against the revenue staff.
The office staff called in the police, which came and assured justice to the family. The police consoled the daughters and sent the body in the same ambulance back to Anantapur. District revenue authorities called for a probe into the matter.
