Ex-BSF jawan tries self-immolation outside Parliament house

In bid to get the attention and mark a protest against his termination from the services of Border Security Force (BSF), a 39-year-old man, accompanying his wife and three children, tried to immolate himself near Parliament house on Friday afternoon. According to the police, the man has been identified as Ashok Kumar, who was dismissed from his services in BSF in 2000 after he was declared mentally unstable. ‘He appears to be mentally unstable and was dismissed from services on the same grounds. He was caught by the police before he could harm himself,’ said the police.

Kumar claims to have approached senior officers in the forces as well as home ministry in the past but no one paid heed to his woes, police said. On Friday, he arrived at Vijay Chowk along with his wife and three children, including a four-year-old son and two teenage daughters. He started shouting that he was denied justice and was waylaid by security forces at Vijay Chowk. Kumar then put the banner on fire and poured kerosene on himself. But just as he was about to set himself afire, police present on the spot rescued him and took him to Parliament Street police station. ‘Kumar’s wife has told police that she had repeatedly stopped him from going ahead with his plan but he continued to step ahead,’ said a senior police official.