In Hyderabad, home guard who lit himself on fire died; opposition accuses BRS

A traffic house guard who had just set himself on fire and was receiving treatment at a private hospital passed away on Friday, according to the police.

The state’s opposition criticised the administration for failing to prevent Ravinder, a home guard, from dying.

While state BJP president G Kishan Reddy described it as a ‘murder’ carried out by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS government, Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy claimed that harassment by higher officials caused the attempted suicide and death.

On Tuesday, Ravinder, who had visited the Home Guard Commandant’s office in this city’s Goshamahal, lit himself on fire. He was transferred to a government-run hospital after police received a tip from bystanders. He had approximately 50% burn damage and was subsequently admitted to another hospital in the city.

Ravinder’s wife informed the media that her husband had contacted her on Tuesday to inform her that he had been ‘ill-treated’ by two senior police officers, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a constable working at the commandant’s office.

She requested that the ASI and the constable be punished.

When questioned about claims that the house guard visited the office to inquire about a purported delay in receiving his payment, police indicated it had nothing to do with pay.

In addition to being a union minister, Kishan Reddy visited Ravinder on Thursday when he was receiving treatment.

Later, when speaking to reporters, he claimed that the Telangana BRS government had broken its promises and commitments to home guards regarding the improvement of their working conditions.

He pleaded with the home guards not to take such drastic measures. Revanth Reddy alleged ‘This is not a suicide but a murder committed by the state government.’

Home guards and other staff cannot expect their salaries from the state government to be paid on schedule. Reddy alleged that the payment for the home guards had been overdue for the past five months.

In addition to a government position and Rs. 25 lakh in ex-gratia payments to the deceased man’s family, he requested serious action against the officials who were allegedly responsible for Ravinder’s death.