Government official immolates self, senior booked

AURAIYA - Alleging that he was being harassed by his senior, a government official here immolated himself, police said Friday. The senior official has been booked for abetment of suicide.

Rajesh Kumar, 32, a class IV government employee who worked at the Babarpur Nagar Panchayat, succumbed to his injuries Thursday in a hospital. Kumar had set himself afire Wednesday.

“The victim’s family alleges that Rajesh was upset with the harassment by Parshuram Shankwar, an executing officer of the nagar panchayat. So he took the extreme step,” Superintendent of Police Abdul Hamid told reporters in Auraiya, 250 km from Lucknow.

Police inspector Rahamuddin Khan said: “We have got to know that the executing officer had Wednesday morning scolded Rajesh in front of several other officials.”

“The victim’s family also alleged that he used to threaten Rajesh that he would get him removed from his job,” he added.

“Shankwar is absconding. Efforts are on to trace him so that we could interrogate him in connection with Rajesh Kumar’s death,” Khan said.