NIZAMPUR (PANIPAT), June 4 – A 55-year-old farmer from Panipat’s Nizampur village died after he was allegedly set on fire by associates of a real estate company amid an ongoing land dispute, police said.
The deceased, Bijender Kumar, succumbed to burn injuries at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, where he was taken after initial treatment at Panipat and PGIMS, Rohtak.
According to the FIR lodged at Sector 13-17 police station, two men from the company — identified as Ravi and Rajat — have been booked under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Kumar’s son, Rohit, alleged in his police complaint that the accused had damaged their tubewell on Monday night around 8.30 pm. “My father was at the farm at that time. I suspect they set him on fire,” he stated.
The family claimed that a legal dispute over land and a tubewell was already underway in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Kumar’s uncle, Nafe Singh, said the builder was developing a housing project in the area and had been pressuring them to vacate the land.
In a widely shared video recorded in an ambulance, Kumar, badly burnt, was heard saying, “Three-four men from the company poured petrol-like substance on me…”
DSP (Headquarters) Sushil Kumar Vats confirmed that police found Kumar near his farmland in a severely burnt condition. Security personnel have been deployed in the village to maintain order.
“We are awaiting the autopsy report. A case has been registered based on the family’s statement, and investigations are ongoing,” Vats said.
