Chennai: Student sets himself on fire on way to school

Chennai: A class 10 student of private school committed suicide by setting himself on fire on his way to school in Mambakkam after his father scolded him over his academic performance. The deceased boy was identified as S. Balachandran of Perumal Nagar in Perumbakkam.

The boy was walking to the school when he spotted a under construction building on Mambakkam main road where he doused himself with fuel and set himself on fire. Though he was taken to Kilpauk medical college immediately, he died of on the way, police said.

Police quoting eyewitnesses said that the boy was carrying petrol in a white can, which he used to douse himself. “We don’t know from where he got the petrol. His father had reportedly scolded him and reminded him about the need to score good marks in class 10,” police said and added that it could have forced him to take the extreme step.