Woman victim of land fraud consumes poison

Gurgaon, April 24 (IANS) An 18-year-old victim of a land fraud attempted to kill herself by consuming poison in front of the crowded office of the Gurgaon deputy commissioner Tuesday, an official said.

Poonam, unmarried and a resident of Gurgaon village, consumed poison in the corridor of Deputy Commissioner P.C. Meena's office. He was present in the office at the time.

Poonam was rushed to civil hospital where her condition is stated to be stable. Police have registered a case of attempt to suicide against her.

Giving the background of the case, the victim's mother Santra Devi said Poonam and her sister Parveen had more than half an acre of land in their name that their cousin Sunder Singh proposed to buy for Rs.1 crore.

"Five lakh rupees was given to us as token money. The rest of the amount was promised at the time of registry on April 18, but the buyer stayed away at the last moment. We immediately requested the registrar not to sign on the papers as Rs.95 lakhs were not paid," Santra Devi said.

"Our written complaint was ignored and Naib Tehsildar Rammehar Malik signed the registry papers. We informed the deputy commissioner about the whole episode at that time," she added.

"On April 20, we were called to the DC's office along with the buyer and registrar, we were assured that the registry would be cancelled if the payment was not made but that remained only an assurance," Santra Devi said.

Poonam's relative Bhoop Lal told IANS: "On Tuesday, Poonam was called by the registrar to resolve the matter but he told her that he could not do anything as the registry was valid."

Ram Kumar, an eyewitness, said Poonam then went to the DC office but was not allowed to enter. She then took out a bottle from her bag and consumed the liquid in it. She than fainted and lay on the floor for about 20 minutes until a police vehicle arrived and took her to hospital.

"She is unconscious but her condition is stable," Gulshan Arora, the doctor who is treating her, said.

Deputy Commissioner Meena told IANS the the two sisters had come to him and he tried to settle the issue but he don't have sthe power to cancel the registered deal. Only a civil court could do so, he added.