A 23-year-old man attempted to set himself ablaze allegedly after the police tried to stop a march he was leading to the Prime Minister’s parliamentary office demanding caste-based quota to be replaced with reservation on financial grounds, the police said.
Avinash Anand, a BA third-year student of UP college, was leading a procession with other students from the BHU gate (Singhdwar) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office at Ravindrapuri to protest against caste-based reservation, Circle Officer (Bhelupur) Ayodhya Prasad Singh said.
When policemen tried to stop their procession, they sat on a dharna during which Anand attempted self-immolation, the officer said, adding that the police personnel and his friends put out the fire and rushed him to a nearby hospital.
He sustained minor injuries and is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
His condition is stable, Singh said.
The police registered a case and detained four other persons who were part of the march, he said, adding that a probe was on.