Sabarimala row: Man attempts self-immolation near BJP's protest venue

A 55-year-old man, said to be an Ayyappa devotee, attempted self-immolation near the protest venue of the BJP in front of the Secretariat here early Thursday.
 

The man, identified as Venugopalan Nair, was a native of Muttada near here, police said.
 

Chanting 'swamiye saranam Ayyappa' mantra, Nair set himself ablaze after pouring petrol over his body and tried to run to the makeshift tent where senior BJP leader C K Padmanabhan has been staging indefinite fast demanding the lifting of prohibitory orders at Sabarimala hill shrine, they said.
 

However, the party activists and the police, who were present near the