New Delhi: As BSP celebrated Mayawati's 52nd birthday, a 25-year-old Samajwadi Party activist today attempted self immolation here protesting the alleged "murder of democracy" in Uttar Pradesh.

Ranvijay Singh, an activist of the party's students wing Chaatra Sabha and hailing from Sultanpur in UP, set himself afire after he sprinkled petrol at Jantar Mantar around 12:50 p.m. shouting slogans against Mayawati.

Singh was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital with serious burn injuries, a senior police official said.

In his statement to police, the youth is understood to have claimed that he attempted suicide to protest the "murder of democracy" in Uttar Pradesh by the Mayawati-led BSP government and the harassment meted out to Samajwadi Party activists.

Protesters claimed that they had no clue about Singh's intention and they were taken by surprise by his action. "I was standing near him and suddenly saw him pouring petrol on his body before lighting a matchstick. Everything happened in a flash of second," an activist said.

Sanjay Latar, president of Chaatra Sabha, claimed that Singh was emotionally charged up after the recent incidents in the state. "Singh had a letter in his pocket which read as democracy being murdered in UP. We won't tolerate this," Latar claimed.

Source : PTI