Dejected over the verdict of conviction against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday, a senior citizen set himself ablaze near Arcot Road in the evening. He died later at a city hospital.
The K.K. Nagar police identified the man as Venkatesan Srinivasan (65), an electrician and a resident of BLN Prasanth Nagar in Alwarthirunagar. Venkatesan, a fan of Jayalalithaa, reportedly arrived at the Vanniyar Street–Arcot Road junction around 5.15 p.m. with a can of petrol. Raising slogans against the conviction, he doused himself with the fuel and then set himself ablaze.
Shocked motorists and pedestrians remained onlookers for a few minutes as Venkatesan ran across the road before collapsing near the median. Some local shopkeepers rushed out and tried to beat down the flames. Venkatesan had by then lost consciousness.
An ambulance reached the spot sometime later, and he was rushed to Government Kilpauk Hospital, where he died around midnight on Sunday. A senior doctor at the hospital said Venkatesan had suffered nearly 100 per cent burns.
30-year-old attempts suicide
In another incident, a 30-year-man attempted to set himself on fire outside the residence of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at Poes Garden.
The police said the incident took place around 2.30 p.m., when party cadre had gathered outside the Chief Minister’s residence in large numbers, anticipating her acquittal in the case.
Partyworker Ravi Kumar, an autorickshaw driver from Teynampet, was among the crowd. As news started coming in on her possible conviction, Kumar suddenly made an attempt at suicide by dousing himself with a bottle of kerosene that he was carrying.
Police personnel on duty pinned him to the ground and rescued him before he could set himself on fire.
(With additional reporting by Zubeda Hamid)