High drama in Barmer as MLA douses himself in petrol during protest

High drama prevailed outside the District Collectorate in Rajasthan’s Barmer on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) when Sheo MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati allegedly poured petrol on himself during a protest over the demand for employment at a mining project. Mr. Bhati’s supporters and the police personnel restrained him and prevented any mishap.

Mr. Bhati was taken inside the Collectorate for talks with the senior officers to resolve the issue, while the premises were placed under heavy police deployment. The local youth, labourers and villagers had reached the Collector’s office as part of an ongoing agitation in the Rajasthan State Mines and Mineral Limited (RSMML) lignite mines in Giral area.

The local workers at the mines have been staging a sit-in protest for about 40 days, demanding resolution of multiple pending grievances related to employment, wages and working conditions. Mr. Bhati, the Independent MLA from Sheo, joined the protesters in solidarity and sat at the demonstration with them.

The protesters claimed that the local youth were not being given priority in employment and the workers were being exploited. Their key demands included reinstatement of dismissed workers, implementation of an eight-hour work shift, payment of bonuses, and provision of basic facilities for labourers.

The demonstrators were also agitated over the lack of any response from the mining company and the failure of any officer from the district administration to turn up and receive a memorandum. After Mr. Bhati and his supporters arrived outside the Collectorate in a large convoy of vehicles, they entered into heated arguments with the police officials at the barricades.

During the verbal duel with the police personnel, Mr. Bhati suddenly allegedly poured petrol from a bottle over himself, triggering panic at the site. His supporters present at the scene rushed and wiped off the petrol with a cloth, while the security personnel restrained him from making any further movement.

Mr. Bhati earlier told journalists at the venue that the demands of labourers must be heard with “seriousness and sensitivity”. “Despite more than a month of peaceful protest in this heat, the administration has not taken any step to resolve their grievances… This is a complete failure of accountability,” he said.

The Giral Lignite Mines, operated by RSMML, are a group of major open-cast lignite mines located near Thumbli and Giral villages, 43 km away from Barmer, in the Sheo Assembly constituency. The Giral mines are a significant source of lignite coal in the Thar region of western Rajasthan.