26/11 hero’s uncle sets himself ablaze

“I have seen the visuals on TV. From the handwriting in Malayalam,I believe it is my own younger brother. It is true that he is Sandeep’s uncle,” K Unnikrishnan,Sandeep’s father,said in Bangalore.

“I don’t know why he has done this. I am not in an emotional state to talk about it. Many people who are related to Sandeep are prepared for sacrifices and are concerned about many things. My brother is a very intelligent man,” said Unnikrishnan.

Addl DCP (New Delhi) V A Gupta said: “K Mohanan came to Delhi two days ago from Kozhikode. He attempted suicide because he wanted to feel the pain that his nephew must have felt.”

A senior police officer said: “K Mohanan informed a few mediapersons,who parked their OB vans outside Parliament House,before taking the extreme step. Some of them recorded the incident on their cameras without anyone trying to save his life,” said a senior police officer.

In the first two pages of his diary,which the police recovered later along with a train ticket and his identity card,Mohanan has written that “the administrators and representatives of the political parties could not do anything for the victims of the 26/11 attack. It was actually a war against two nations. Wasn’t the decision that was taken by the government on the Kandahar incident a reason for the Mumbai attack?… Anyone can come to India and do anything in India… Indian democracy is a curse for India itself… the enemies are utilising this… why is the government delaying the introduction of a bill in Parliament against terrorism?…. Democracy should be for the well-being of the nation,and it should not make way for terrorism… Sandu mon (Sandeep Unnikrishnan) you are forgotten every passing day… but I will never forget you.”  

Mohanan runs a grocery shop at his home town,Cheruvannur,a suburban area of Kozhikode in Kerala. According to the family,he had left home last Sunday,saying he was headed for Ernakulam. Locals recalled that Mohanan used to complain that victims of the Mumbai terror attack had not got justice. He reportedly had no financial problems or mental ailment. With inputs from ENS Bangalore,Thiruvananthapuram.