UP man dies of 80% burns at Delhi hospafter self-immolation near police outpost

Agra: A 52-year-old man died of 80% burns at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Mon, a day after he immolated himself outside a police outpost in Aligarh. Family members of Manoj Verma, a local driver, alleged that he took the extreme step due to "police harassment linked to a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued in a case under the SC/ST Act".Verma's brother Rajeev Soni said that "the 20-year-old SC/ST Act case was still pending against him," adding that he was being harassed by cops. Police refuted the claims.SSP (Aligarh) Neeraj Jadaun said, "Verma lived around 150 metres away from the police outpost. I spoke to his family members, and they did not speak about any police harassment. In the past, a court may have issued a NBW. But, there was no such NBW at present.

Every angle is being probed."According to police, Verma had set himself ablaze near Khair police outpost around 4 pm on Sunday and then walked towards the chowki, engulfed in flames after allegedly spraying an inflammable substance on himself. Cops rushed out and smothered the fire with blankets, but by then he had already suffered severe burns and was in a critical condition.