With officials failing to evict an encroachment in Malaiyampattu village near Arani, the villagers thronged the Arani taluk office with kerosene cans on Wednesday and threatened self immolation.
The villagers complained that a person belonging to an influential family had encroached upon the road leading to their habitation, making navigation difficult for them.
As their repeated pleas for eviction of encroachment fell into deaf ears, they said they decided to set themselves on fire.
Later, tahsildar Tamilmani held talks with them and promised to evict the encroachment on Friday after obtaining sufficient police protection.
Following the tahsildar’s assurance, the villagers withdrew the protest.
