57-yr-old guard sets self ablaze

A security watchman set himself ablaze near Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Thursday. Police personnel who were on security duty at the Assembly, which is in session, doused the flames and shifted him to hospital.

According to the police, the survivor, Narlakanti Nagula, 57, works as a security guard at an apartment complex in Banjara Hills. Before setting himself on fire, he was telling reportedly people passing by that he had hopes of finding a better job after the formation of Telangana state but that had not come true. After a few minutes, he set himself on fire.

After the police doused the flames and before he could be taken to hospital, onlookers gathered at the spot and filmed Nagula. In a video which has since gone viral, Nagula is heard saying “KCR sir” and “Jai Telangana.”

He suffered around 25 per cent burns and was taken to Osmania General Hospital for treatment. Before being taken away to the hospital, he told people gathered at the spot that he had taken part in the Telangana statehood agitation and he had believed that his life would improve once the state was formed. Nagula, a resident of Kadthal village in Ranga Reddy district, had migrated to the city about 15 years ago.