Stone mining protest: Seer critical after setting himself afire in Rajasthan's Bharatpur

A seer allegedly set himself afire amid a protest over illegal stone mining in Bharatpur's Deeg on Wednesday, a day after another seer climbed atop a mobile tower demanding a ban on it.

The seer was referred to Jaipur from Bharatpur in a critical condition, officials said.

The seer who had climbed atop a mobile tower came down after the incident and peace talks were going on, police said. The authorities extended the suspension of mobile internet services in some areas of Bharatpur by a day.

"A sadhu, Vijay Das, who was standing away from the protest site all of a sudden set himself afire today. A police team rushed to him with blankets to douse the fire. The seer was rushed to Bharatpur from where he was referred to Jaipur owing to his condition," Khoh SHO Vinod Kumar said.

Superintendent of Bharatpur Medical College Dr Jigyasa Sahni said the seer has been referred to Jaipur as he had 80 per cent burn injuries.

Meanwhile, Medical and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena reached Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur and inquired about the health of Saint Vijay Das.

Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia also reached the hospital and inquired about the well being of Das.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday targeted the state Congress government over the sadhu's suicide attempt in Bharatpur, saying that the Ashok Gehlot government is solely responsible for this.

"The state government did not pay heed to the demand of saints and seers to stop illegal mining. A saint's attempt of self-immolation is the result of this," Raje said.

Mobile internet services were suspended till Thursday as a precautionary measure. Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Sanwarmal Verma said the suspension of mobile internet services has been extended by one more day amid the latest developments. On Tuesday, Verma issued an order suspending mobile internet services in Pahari, Kaman, Nagar and Sikri tehsils of Bharatpur district till 12 noon on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a high-voltage drama was witnessed when seer Narayan Das climbed atop the mobile tower demanding a ban on stone mining.

Narayan Das, along with some other seers, had been holding a protest for the past few days demanding the ban