The man set himself on fire with petrol from his motorcycle in front of the SBI bank. (Representative)
Gonda, OP:
A 25-year-old man, who set himself on fire outside a bank here, allegedly after he was denied a loan, succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Lucknow on Thursday, officials said.
Divyaraj Pandey, who set himself on fire on Wednesday, was brought to King George Medical College in Lucknow in very critical condition with over 90 per cent burns, said Dr Sandeep, trauma center in-charge.
After his death, the local administration deployed a police team to maintain law and order in his village of Sarhara Pandeypurwa in Itiyathok region. Senior district officials also visited the family and assured them of all possible help.
Pandey set himself on fire with petrol from his motorcycle in front of the SBI bank for Kotwali on Wednesday, police said, adding that his friend Pradeep also suffered burns and has been hospitalized.
Pandey’s family said he got married in 2021 and became a father to a baby boy six months ago.
A relative said Pandey had an ITI degree and wanted to start a bottling plant, for which he had applied for a loan from the bank.
“He wanted to do some work but I don’t know anything about the loan. He never told me anything,” father Munna Lal Pandey, who is a teacher at a private school, told PTI.
Pandey’s family members alleged that he took the drastic step as the bank officials did not approve his loan.
SBI regional manager Gyan Prakash denied the allegations made by Pandey’s family.
In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Prakash said an unknown person tried to commit an “illegal act” in front of the bank. “Everything related to his loan was with the bank,” he added.
District Magistrate Neha Sharma has ordered a judicial inquiry by City Magistrate Chandrashekhar, officials said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
