The Blowhard
05-19-2002, 07:08 AM
Children blackmail parents with landmine suicide threats
Authorities in India say children are using landmines to blackmail their parents.
Army personnel patrolling India's border with Pakistan claim to have averted eight suicide attempts in the last month.
The Dainik Ujala newspaper reports a teenager who was rescued after crossing into mined territory claimed he was trying to kill himself because his parents refused to buy him a motorbike.
In another case two lovers threatened to blow themselves up if their families objected to their marriage.
Harnam Singh, a farmer from the border village of Kahangarh, said: "The mines have become a very effective tool for blackmail. Children know they can extract anything from their parents if they threaten to walk into the danger area."
The paper quotes a senior army official said: "As if the problem of terrorists crossing the border was not enough, we now have to deal with people contemplating suicide.
"It may not always be possible for us to be around to persuade them to give up their dangerous plans. We hope youngsters will become more serious and give up the silly practice of treating mined zones like some tourist spot."
Authorities are now holding regular meetings with people in the area to educate them about the dangers.
Story filed: 13:17 Saturday 18th May 2002
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
Authorities in India say children are using landmines to blackmail their parents.
Army personnel patrolling India's border with Pakistan claim to have averted eight suicide attempts in the last month.
The Dainik Ujala newspaper reports a teenager who was rescued after crossing into mined territory claimed he was trying to kill himself because his parents refused to buy him a motorbike.
In another case two lovers threatened to blow themselves up if their families objected to their marriage.
Harnam Singh, a farmer from the border village of Kahangarh, said: "The mines have become a very effective tool for blackmail. Children know they can extract anything from their parents if they threaten to walk into the danger area."
The paper quotes a senior army official said: "As if the problem of terrorists crossing the border was not enough, we now have to deal with people contemplating suicide.
"It may not always be possible for us to be around to persuade them to give up their dangerous plans. We hope youngsters will become more serious and give up the silly practice of treating mined zones like some tourist spot."
Authorities are now holding regular meetings with people in the area to educate them about the dangers.
Story filed: 13:17 Saturday 18th May 2002
THIS SPACE FOR RENT