Divisional Commissioner, Amravati range, H R Kulkarni, who was asked to conduct an inquiry into both Lahane's self-immolation and the drinking water problem in the district, told The Indian Express

that he has recommended that District Magistrate M N Bobde, Superintendent of Police Sandeep Bishnoi and Chief Executive Officer Bhalchandra Avandal be transferred out of the district for their failure to prevent the incident.

Kulkarni, who has already submitted his report to the state government, has also recommended that the Zilla Parishad be dissolved for having completely neglected the district's water problem.

The station police inspector, Buldhana, should also be suspended forthe failure to provide Lahane with a security cover in the light of the fact that the activist had even submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, copies of which he had forwarded to all district officials, warning that he would immolate himself in the ZP premises if his village was not provided proper drinking water facilities by October 5, according to the report.

Officials associated with the inquiry pointed out that the local administration and police should have prevented Lahane from immolating himself by either arresting him at least 24 hours before the incident, providing him with security cover or at least thwarting his suicide by posting police personnel at the ZP premises since the activist had announced his plan well in advance. All the police did was call Lahane to the police station once and try to talk the fiery activist out of his plan.

Moreover, Executive Engineer, S M Birajdar, of the Rural Water Supply Department, had visited Lahane on October 4 and gave him a letterdetailing the steps being taken to fulfill his demand. However, Lahane wrote back saying he wasn't convinced and added that he was determined to immolate himself for the cause. Records indicate that Lahane's letter had reached the engineer's office before noon on October 5 but it was read only after Lahane went up in flames.

The inquiry report says: ``Nothing could be more ridiculous than the fact that Devidas Lahane cycled all the way from his village, Sundarkhed, to the ZP office, a distance of about two km, carrying a can of kerosene, and then found enough time to douse himself with it and set himself ablaze in full view of the people''.

``Where were the police while all this was happening? Why was Devidas not provided with a constable to guard him? After all, the police did not need to depute an armed battalion to guard Devidas. A constable would have been enough,'' the report states.

The report also says that though Lahane's problem related to the administration, the fact that he had threatenedself-immolation should have alerted the police to the danger it posed to the law and order situation. Following Lahane's death, police had lathi-charged a group of protesting villagers, 26 of whom were recuperating in the district civil hospital for at least six days after they were thrashed.

The official said the local administration also wrongly implemented a scheme for potable water in Buldhana district and 13 adjoining villages sanctioned in December 1997. Of the Rs 2 crore released under the Rs 25-crore scheme, whose deadline was set as March 1999, the ZP first built a filtration plant for water to be supplied from the Yelgaon dam.

They should have instead first constructed a pipeline to bring raw water from the dam to the village, a distance of seven km and at a cost of under Rs 2 crore, so that some water could be made available to the villagers, the official pointed out.

Besides, the ZP also dug borewells on the basis of outdated water maps provided by the state government's Ground Water SurveyAuthority (GSDA). Hence, water was being struck in places which did not conform to the maps provided by the GSDA.

However, the official said: ``It is ridiculous that it did not occur to the ZP officials that the configuration of the water table in and around Buldhana had changed significantly after the Yelgaon dam was built about a decade ago.''

The inquiry officer is also convinced that the new urban settlement mushrooming adjacent to the village had put considerable pressure on the area's water supply with the new settlers getting a larger share of water even as the villagers went without water for days together.

Meanwhile, political parties like the Republican Party of India (RPI), Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have called for a bandh in the district on October 14. RPI leader Gangadhar Gade says his party will seek permission to file a private complaint against District Magistrate M N Bobde and the Superintendent of Police Sandeep Bishnoi for failing to prevent Lahane'sself-immolation.