A Tibetan activist on Monday suffered serious burns after he set himself afire at Jantar Mantar here during a protest against the coming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to New Delhi for the BRICS summit.
Jamphel Yeshi, 26, doused himself with an inflammable liquid and set himself afire while a gathering of Tibetan protesters was being addressed by a leader.
According to an eyewitness, Yeshi came running from behind and ran into the crowd engulfed in flames. The protesters tried to put out the flames with flags.
“The atmosphere at Jantar Mantar was emotionally charged and it seems the young man got carried away. He was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital by a Police Control Room van. He suffered more than 90 per cent burns. Yeshi has been staying in Delhi for a long time. He was in Tibet recently and returned to Delhi six days ago to take part in the protest. He has earlier taken part in various anti-China protests,” said Tenzing Norsang, joint secretary, Tibetan Youth Congress, which organised the protest.
Earlier, a large number of protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan around 10.30 a.m. and took out a march to Jantar Mantar carrying placards and banners against Mr. Hu's visit. Tibetans from all over the country, including political prisoners and monks, took part in the protest.
Mr. Norsang said it was a historic day for Tibetans as it marked the centenary of declaration of war against the Manchu occupying forces in Tibet on March 26, 1912.
The Tibetan Youth Congress claimed that a large number of Tibetan activists were detained by the Delhi Police and sent to the Tihar jail when they tried to march to the Chinese Embassy.
