Maharasthra: Youth torches self at a sub-divisional police officer’s office in Virar

A 23-year-old youth accusing the police department of continuous harassment and bribe demands allegedly set himself ablaze at the office of a senior officer at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district . The deceased youth’s family members allege Virar police responsible for the incident.

A video of the deceased, Vikash Jha,  has gone viral on social media, where he can be seen blaming the Virar police for continuous harassment and bribe demands. He can be seen accusing a  local corporator of asking for money to help him out of the case.

However, the Maharashtra Police has denied the allegations made by the deceased.  According to Palghar police, Jha had eight offences registered against him since 2014, including robbery, assault and cheating.

The police added the he was wanted recently for a latest case against him. The case was registered on Thursday accusing him of outraging woman’s modesty, assault and criminal intimidation.

Palghar Superintendent of Police Manjunath Singe said, “We have initiated a inquiry on the allegations made by Jha. We have sent the video clip for forensic test, if the video is found to be genuine proper actions will be taken.”

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According to reports, the deceased, Vikash Jha, set himself on fire at the office of Vishwas Walvi, Vasai Sub-divisional Police Officer on Friday evening. The police officers poured water on him to douse the fire and rushed him to a nearby private hospital for early medical treatment.

According to the doctors of the private hospital, Jha was admitted with 80%-90% burns. He was later shifted to Kasturba Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.