Man sets himself on fire near Parliament, sustains 90% burns

Police said Kumar is from Patti Dhandhan, Chhaprauli.

Devesh Mahla, DCP (New Delhi), said, “The man set himself ablaze using petrol in the park at the Rail Bhawan roundabout. When he came running outside, local police and railway police, along with civilians, immediately doused the fire using a blanket. The person was rushed to the hospital in a PCR van. He had reached Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.”

The DCP added that so far, they suspect the man was upset regarding an issue of personal enmity in his hometown. Police said the man reached Shahdara railway station around 1 pm. A general ticket from Baraut to Shahdara, worth Rs 15, was discovered in his pocket.

“Some papers were found on his person. It was found that three cases have been ongoing against him in Baghpat and he alleged that local police aren’t probing the case properly which is why he was upset,” added Mahla.

According to the papers, the three cases against Kumar were registered in May 2021, April 2022 and May 2024. According to sources, the victim has named a man who he accused of troubling him and his family for some years.

Sources at RML Hospital, where the man was taken, said he reached the hospital with respiratory distress. His condition is critical, they said.

Later in the evening, his family arrived in Delhi. Jitendra, they said, is an LLB dropout and works as a “bhatta majdoor”.

His cousin, Gaurav, 21, alleged: “We are from the lower caste. Garibon aur chote logon ki koi sunwayi nahi hai yahan (there’s no one to listen to poor and the lower caste. In 2021, some people assaulted Jitendra’s father… His family tried to lodge a case but police didn’t; instead a case was registered against Jitendra. In 2022, the same people (who assaulted the father) lodged another case against Jitendra under Section 308. In 2024, they tried to run over Jitendra and his father. Once again, a case was registered against him. Over all these years, they kept threatening him and his family to stay silent… He (Jitendra) tried to get help from everyone — administration to politicians… he was even jailed for 1.5 months in one of these fake cases.”

Jitendra’s friend Nitin said: “He told me this morning he was going to Delhi. He frequently came here every two-three months with all his papers, hoping for help…”

“System se haar ke aisa kadam uthaya usne (he took such a step after losing to the system)…,” he added.