Tibetan monk burns himself to death in Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug 6: A Tibetan monk died on Tuesday after setting himself on fire at one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in

, in an apparent protest against

rule in Tibet.

Karma Nyedhon Gyaltso, 39, from Dhamshung in Tibet, set himself on fire at Bouddhanath Stupa in the northeastern edge of Kathmandu, a police officer said.

Tibetan activists claimed that the man set himself on fire to protest Chinese rule in Tibet. Gyaltso was rushed to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital after he sustained serious burn injuries.

He was declared dead shortly after. According to Inspector Arun Kumar Bhandari at Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Bauddha, the incident occurred around 7.45 am in an alley away from the crowd at Bouddhanath Stupa. Gyaltso had arrived at Tibetan Reception Centre in Kathmandu on January 30, 2012.

Thousands of Tibetan refugees live in Nepal and many of them live around Boudhanath, which is surrounded by Buddhist monasteries. Many Tibetans have set themselves on fire, in their ancestral homeland or nearby regions, since 2011 to protest Chinese rule or to demand their spiritual leader Dalai Lama's return to Tibet.

PTI