New Delhi, The sister of a war hero Wednesday dramatically attempted to immolate herself at a press conference by Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, but was saved in the nick of time by a TV journalist who snatched the matchstick just as she was lighting it.

A distraught Laxmi, sister of the late Harinder Singh, was seated amidst journalists in the conference hall of Press Information Bureau (PIB) hoping for speedy action and restoration of a sealed petrol pump awarded to the family under an official quota meant for the kith and kin of military personnel.

Dressed in a synthetic salwar kurta, she said she had met the minister nine times and asked him pointedly why no action had been taken on her complaint that the pump in Jattori in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district had been wrongly sealed on charges of selling adulterated fuel.

Deora admitted he had met her as officials tried to send her away, saying it was a forum only for the media.

And then before they could react, she had doused herself with kerosene, some of which splattered on the carpeted floor, and was just about to light it when an intrepid journalist, Ashish Vidyarthi of STAR NEWS, snatched the lit matchstick - even while others were busy clicking away.

It took several cops to lead Laxmi, who is in her 20s, out of the building that houses several ministries. The fire brigade was called when Laxmi refused to leave the premises and threatened to attempt suicide again.

Harinder Singh was killed during Operation Parakram, when the military was deployed along the Pakistan border following the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

Laxmi in her complaint has alleged that a local 'mafia don' H.P. Singh colluded with IndianOil officials to rob her family - including her aged parents and small brothers and sisters - of their sole livelihood.

A probe by the petroleum ministry and IndianOil has revealed that Singh, who is known to have taken over other petrol pumps through coercion, may well have duped Laxmi.

"In fact, directives have been given to IndianOil and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to ensure that proper training is given before allocating new petrol pumps as most allottees under the special quotas are generally not well educated or equipped to handle petrol pump operations," a ministry official told IANS.

"The matter has been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation and the company is also probing the charges," a stunned Deora told journalists.

IndianOil Chairman and Managing Director S. Behuria said: "Once a petrol pump has been allocated, the dealer is treated at par with all others and the same rules apply to all. The (sealing) action has been taken in this case as there was evidence of malpractice."

Behuria assured that the company board would soon take up the matter.

Security at the PIB has meanwhile been tightened and probe is on to find out how Lami came in to the press conference and who let her in with her bag containing the kerosene bottle.

The possible collusion of some news channels in this episode is also being investigated.