Man tries to set himself afire at march against caste-based

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 here, was leadinga 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 officersaid, 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.