Police foil immolation bid by Tibetan youth in Dharamsala

March 10, 2013 07:01 pm | Updated 07:01 pm IST - Dharamsala

A self-immolation bid by a Tibetan youth was on Sunday foiled by police in Dharamsala during a march to mark the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

The Tibetan youth, Dawa Dhondup (30) allegedly drank petrol and also poured it over himself before trying to set himself ablaze during the 54th Tibetan Uprising Day march in Dharamsala, the seat of Tibetan government-in-exile.

However, he was immediately overpowered and stopped by policemen on duty and was rushed to hospital in critical condition, Kangra SP, Balbir Singh Thakur said.

He could not set himself ablaze but his condition was serious as he had drunk petrol, he added.

“Such incident never happened in Dharamsala though Tibetans used to demonstrate several times. Keeping in view this incident, it shall now be difficult for the police to allow them to hold procession and demonstration,” he said.

Every year, Tibetan exiles in India mark the anniversary of the failed March 10, 1959, uprising with speeches and marches.

As many as 107 self-immolations have been reported in Tibetan areas since 2009 and 90 of them have died, with the protesters calling for the return of the Tibetans’ spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.