Anna's peaceful-protest hampered; man sets himself ablaze

New Delhi, Aug 24: In the first instance of casualty in the peaceful-protest of Gandhian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, a man set himself ablaze while shouting slogans in support of Hazare. The incident happened near Kisan Ghat in central Delhi on Tuesday after noon, revealed police sources.

The man was immediately admitted to the LNJP Hospital and has suffered 90 per cent burns. Doctors have confirmed that there are very less chances that he might survive. The man is 31-years-old and was carrying a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) card. The card showed his name as Dinesh Singh Yadav hailing from Sarkuddin village in Patna, Bihar. The police revealed that he had arrived at the New Delhi railway station on Tuesday afternoon and apparently proceeded straight to Kisan Ghat.

Police officials stationed in a PCR van nearby heard the man shouting slogans like "Anna Zindabad", “Inquilab Zindabad" and “Vande mataram" before he set himself on fire after dousing himself with petrol.

The medical superintendent of LNJP was quoted as saying, "Yadav was admitted to the hospital at 4.40 pm by the police. We don"t know his antecedents. He has 90 per cent burns and it seems like his chances of survival are bleak."

The PCR personnel is believed to have passed on the information to the Daryaganj police station, who will investigate into the matter. Yadav's family was also informed of the mishap.

The special commissioner of police (operations), Deepak Mishra commented, "He was identified with the help of an NREGA card we found on his person. “The PCR van was posted barely 50 metres away from the spot where he took the extreme step. The policemen heard him shouting slogans like 'Anna Zindabad" but before they could reach him he had already set himself on fire. We recovered a bottle of petrol near him. He was there alone."

OneIndia News