Fed up of judicial complications, UK based NRI attempts suicide

Friday, 12/07/2013

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/jalandhar/Fed-up-of-judicial-complications-UK-based-NRI-attempts-suicide/SP-Article1-1091479.aspx

Trapped in the web of legal technicalities, knitted by his own lawyer friend against him, a UK based 75-year old NRI today tried to set himself on fire by pouring kerosene on himself.

Drenched with kerosene, he tried to enter court of District and Sessions judge to set him ablaze in front of the Sessions Judge with matchstick in his hand, but he was intercepted by the security.

Ram Partap Puri, 75, a resident of United Kingdom with roots in Kapurthala, while talking to Hindustan Times in the premises of city police station said, “Since 1980, he was fighting for his land grabbed by land mafia of city. In the process of my legal fight, my lawyer friend also ditched me and pursued to get my signed on blank papers assuring me that these papers would be used to defend his case at Punjab and Haryana High Court by the lawyer at Chandigarh.”

“I signed each paper on good faith but my friend used those papers for forging power of attorney. Slowly, he started selling my lands based on these documents. I have been indulged in several cases by my advocate friend who is an influential advocate of the city and is the part and parcel of the land-mafia being run in the state,” he alleged.

“No lawyer in city is ready to take my case to help me out because of the impact of my lawyer friend. Everyone is afraid of him. Since 2006, I am fighting cases against him and his battery of associates. They use each and every point of legal loophole to corner me and the judges even are helpless even after knowing my facts but they cannot go against the proofs,” Puri said.

“Yesterday, one of my cases was scheduled for hearing in the court of additional sessions judge but they managed to transfer it today to the court of district and sessions judge. I was extremely fed up from the style of functioning where I got nothing except dates for next hearing. I took kerosene oil from my home in the morning and put the bin outside the court. When I entered the court, I saw my friend already sitting in the court and he provoked me with a wicked smile on his face,” added Puri.

“This made me nervous and imbalanced. I immediately rushed outside, picked the bin of kerosene and poured that on myself,” he further added.

“For the last 32 years, I am fighting alone. I cannot stay here for more than six months as per rule. My whole business, there in UK is suffering due to my legal fight here for my nearly 160 kanals of land,” said Puri.

When asked by HT about his next course of action, Puri said, “Fighting against the system in India needs lots of courage and patience but I am a fighter and keep on fighting. Will go to any mental hospital to tune my mindset and will again come back with a fresh mindset to restart my fight.”

City police counselled him, listened to his grievances and cared for him whole day and in the evening, send him to his local house with a team of policemen. “He is the victim of legal complications; it did not appeal us to book another case of attempting suicide against him. So we spent our whole day in counselling him,” said city SHO BM Ladhar.