Khadki resident sets self ablaze on office premises of Pune CP

PUNE: A Khadki resident (42) suffered 75% burns after he slit his wrist and set himself ablaze near gate number 3 of the Pune police commissioner’s office on Wednesday noon over an alleged delay in getting a character verification certificate.
He was rushed to a private hospital in Kasba Peth with burns to hands, chest and face. His condition was reported as critical.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the man, who stays with his wife and two children, had on July 1 applied for a police character verification certificate to secure an office boy’s job with a private company. He is a school dropout.
On Wednesday, he visited the police commissioner’s office premises and inquired with the policemen in the verification section near gate number 3 about the status of his plea. After he was told that the verification would take some time, he took the drastic step, police said. The verification was taking time because his name was identical to that of a criminal on police record, the police said.
Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitabh Gupta said, “It is an unfortunate incident. We shall look into the matter on priority.”
Deputy commissioner of police (Special Branch) Mitesh Ghatte said, “Another man with the same full name has serious cases registered with the Kothrud, Samarth and Sahakarnagar police stations. Two police stations verified the Khadki man’s plea and have replied in the negative (no cases against him). The reply of one police station is awaited.”
Ghatte said, “The policemen in the verification section told him that his verification was pending owing to the criminal cases registered in the past against a similar name. They told him to wait for a few more days for the completion of the procedure. Yet, he took the drastic step.”
He said, “After making inquiries, the man walked out of the police commissioner’s office premises. He stood in front of the gate and slit his wrist before dousing himself with some inflammable liquid and walking back into the premises. Before the security personnel at the gates could realise what he was up to, he set himself ablaze and started walking towards a small temple on the premises. Some policemen acted swiftly and put gunny sacks on him and contained the flames.”