Police detain 45-year-old Marathwada woman who tried to end life outside Mantralaya in Mumbai

Mumbai: A 45-year-old woman allegedly tried to immolate herself in front of the state secretariat here today, the latest such incident at the building in last several months, a police official said. Radhabai Salunke, hailing from Beed district in Marathwada region, came to the secretariat, also called as ‘Mantralaya’, on Wednesday and poured kerosene on herself. [caption id=“attachment_4868241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mantralaya[/caption] She was about to set herself ablaze when the police nabbed her, the official said. The woman had came to the secretariat to seek justice in a land dispute case, Deputy Commissioner of Police Prashant Khaire said. She was detained and handed over to the Marine Drive police, he added. Earlier in June, a man hailing from Dhule in north Maharashtra, had attempted suicide at the entrance of Mantralaya while seeking probe in a scheduled caste recruitment drive. In March, a 56-year-old labourer from Beed district had tried to end his life outside the building, after a “police patil” in his village allegedly tried to usurp his land. In February, a 45-year-old man had committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, after which the BJP-led state government set up a safety net covering the open space on the first floor of the seven-storey building. On 22 January, an 84-year-old farmer from Dhule had consumed poison in the Mantralaya premises, demanding adequate compensation for his land, which was acquired by the government for a solar power project.