LUCKNOW: A lineman from
Lakhimpur Kheri
ended his life by setting himself ablaze allegedly after a junior engineer asked him to "send his wife for a night" if he wanted a
transfer
to the place of his choice.
Managing director of the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (
MVVNL
)
Anil Dhingra
has suspended the accused junior engineer and another staff member.
Gokul Prasad
, 45, met junior engineer
Nagendra Kumar to seek transfer from Aliganj in Kheri to Palia at which Kumar allegedly asked him to "send his wife for a night" to get his work done.
Gokul felt humiliated at the comment and set himself ablaze outside Kumar's office in Aliganj (Lakhimpur Kheri) on Saturday. Gokul was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to burns.
"We have suspended
JE
Nagendra Kumar and another staff member with immediate effect. The sequence of events is yet to be established. Police have lodged an FIR and further investigations are on," MVVNL MD Anil Dhingra told the TOI.
In a video shot after Gokul set himself afire, he is seen narrating the reason behind the extreme step. "The JE and his aide had been harassing me. I also approached the police but got no help," he said.
In another video, his wife alleged that the accused had been harassing Gokul for several months.
"Gokul was in a state of depression but his superiors did not spare him. He wanted transfer to Palia from Aliganj as he was facing difficulty in travelling. When he requested the junior engineer for transfer, he made this objectionable condition for transfer," she said.
Superintendent of police, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sanjiv Suman said, "The lineman had alleged that the junior engineer demanded money and made vulgar statements when he sought transfer. We have registered a case under the charge of abetment to suicide."