Thiruvananthapuram: A 49-year-old man set himself ablaze near BJP’s venue of protest over Sabarimala issue in front of Secretariat, at around 1.30 AM on Thursday, reported ANI.
Venugopalan Nair was undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. BJP leader CK Padmanabhan said, “Venugopalan Nair was an Ayyappa devotee.”
However, police said they were conducting an investigation, probing all angles. They also said Nair was in an inebriated condition and there were also some family issues he was struggling with.
The BJP has been protesting over the issue for a while. Its secretariat march turned violent on Monday and police had to use water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protesters.
BJP workers threw stones and hurled chairs at police outside the secretariat when the latter barred them from proceeding further. The agitation was led by general secretary Shobha Surendran and Thiruvananthapuram district president S Suresh who squatted on the road and raised slogans. BJP workers, who took out marches at Kottayam, Kochi and Kozhikode, were also stopped by police.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan who has been on an indefinite fast in front of the secretariat building since December 3, continued demanding the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and various cases registered against party general secretary K Surendran over the Sabarimala protests.
The Pathanamthitta district administration had extended prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in and around Sabarimala temple areas till the midnight of December 12.
Section 144 prohibits assembly of more than four people in an area. As per the decision of the Pathanamthitta district administration, Sabarimala, Elavungal, Nilakkal, Pamba, and Sannidhanam will be under the purview of the police control for four more days.
