“We spent several sleepless nights… we are dying because of those seven persons,” wept 65-year-old Padma, appealing to the police to take action against the wrongdoers, in a recorded video clip. Her son, Santosh, in another clip of over four minutes, was seen crying inconsolably, stating that he and his mother were ending their lives as the ‘gang of seven’ had been harassing them over the past 18 months.
The poignant videos came into public domain after the mother-and-son duo set themselves afire at a lodge in Kamareddy, 25 km from their hometown of Ramayampet in Medak district. Their allegations made many believe that the seven accused cannot escape conviction.
Similar feelings had engulfed the minds of lakhs of viewers three months ago, after watching a selfie video of a middle-aged person named Naga Ramakrishna. He, his wife and twin daughters immolated themselves in their house at Palvancha in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, due to ‘harassment by an MLA’s son’.
