A 38-year-old tribal woman is battling for her life days after being set on fire by a group of people in the Guna District of India's Madhya Pradesh state, which allegedly began over a land dispute.
The woman, Rampyari Bai, belongs to the Saharia tribe that comes under the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) denomination, Indian daily The Hindu reported.
The accused persons not only set her on fire but also filmed it and shared it over social media.
The footage shows Bai crying in pain after the accused allegedly poured diesel over her and set her ablaze on the farmland.
Warning: the following video is disturbing and may offend sensibilities
The woman has now reportedly been admitted to a hospital in the state capital Bhopal, and is in a critical condition, with about 70 to 80 percent burns. The victim was rescued by her husband Arjun Saharia.
The woman told her husband that six people, including two women, burned her for 6 bighas (0.66 hectare) of land, which was allocated to Saharia's family under the state government welfare scheme many years ago.
Saharia has told local reporters that on 23 June, he had reportedly visited the police station and sought protection from the police claiming that his life was in danger as he was getting repeated threats from the same people. However, no action was taken.
Guna District's senior police officer Pankaj Shrivastava said that five people, including two women, have been arrested.
Kamal Nath, a senior member of Congress - the main opposition party in Madhya Pradesh - and a former state chief has accused the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government, led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, of harboring "hostile attitudes" towards the tribals.
Another senior Congress politician, Jairam Ramesh, wrote on Twitter: "On the one hand, this party puts up (tribal) Draupadi Murmu for the presidential election, and on the other allows such a terrible atrocity on a tribal woman."
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