Stone Mining Protest: Sadhu Sets Himself Afire In Rajasthan's Bharatpur

A sadhu set himself afire amid a protest over illegal stone mining in Bharatpur's Deeg on Wednesday, a day after another seer climbed atop a mobile tower demanding a ban on it.

The sadhu was referred to Jaipur from Bharatpur in critical condition, officials said.

The sadhu who had climbed atop the mobile tower came down after the incident and peace talks are going on, police said.

Meanwhile, the authorities extended the suspension of mobile internet services by a day. "A sadhu, Vijay Das, who was standing away from the protest site all of sudden set himself afire today. A police team rushed to him with blankets to douse the fire. The sadhu was rushed to Bharatpur from where he was referred to Jaipur owing to his condition," Khoh SHO Vinod Kumar said.

Superintendent of Bharatpur Medical College Dr Jigyasa Sahni said the sadhu has been referred to Jaipur after first aid. She said the sadhu had 80 per cent burn injuries.

Mobile internet services were suspended till Thursday as a precautionary measure. Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Sanwarmal Verma said the suspension of mobile internet services has been extended by one more day amid the latest developments.

Mr Verma issued an order on Tuesday afternoon suspending mobile internet services in Pahari, Kaman, Nagar and Sikri tehsils of Bharatpur district till 12 noon on Wednesday. On Tuesday, a high-voltage drama was witnessed when seer Narayan Das climbed atop the mobile tower demanding a ban on stone mining.

Narayan Das along with some other seers had been holding a protest for the past a few days demanding the ban.