MADURAI: A 40-year-old auto driver allegedly immolated himself inside a police booth in Madurai Thursday in protest over the Thiruparankundram Deepam row. Police said no one was in the booth when Poorna Chandran allegedly doused himself in diesel and set himself ablaze. Cops said Chandran had sent a WhatsApp voice note to his friends and relatives, stating that he took the step since the Karthigai Deepam was not lit at the ‘Deepathoon’. The note went viral on social media. On Thursday night, police had said they were yet to check its veracity.On Friday, over 30 Hindu Makkal Katchi members organised a sit-in protest at Govt Rajaji Hospital mortuary, refusing to accept Chandran’s body. It was taken for last rites only after his mother intervened.BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagenthran, accompanied by state president of Hindu Munnani, Kadeswara Subramaniam and other BJP members, met the family and handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.The BJP chief asked state govt to provide compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family and a job to his wife. He added that all temples in the state must light a ‘moksha deepam’ to mark the death of Chandran. Former TN BJP president K Annamalai had posted about Chandran’s death on Thursday.
