CHENNAI: A 72-year-old man, who struggled to retrieve his loan amount from a retired railway staff in Tiruvallur took the extreme step and self immolated in front of the Secretariat on Wednesday morning.
The man, identified as Ponnusamy, 72, of Nirmala Nagar at Thiruvalangadu near Tiruvallur, had been running from pillar to post to register a complaint against the moneylender.
Police said Ponnusamy had lent money 14 lakh to the retired railway staff Subramani alias Anand a few months ago, and the latter failed to return the money.
Despite repeated complaints, Ponnusamy didn't get his money back.
Following this, Ponnusamy on Wednesday morning came to the Secretariat to file a petition before the CM cell. After he reached the Secretariat, he poured kerosene on and set himself ablaze. Petitioners who were gathered at the spot, ran for their lives, while police tried to douse the fire.
After efforts, police rushed Ponnusamy, who sustained burn injuries, to the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital. The Fort police have registered a case, and further investigations are on.
