In a tragic incident, a thirty-year-old man committed suicide on Tuesday morning by setting himself on fire in front of the municipal office in Ulhasnagar in Thane district, Maharashtra.

The man identified as Prashant Lahane allegedly did so to protest the alleged injustice meted out to his sister Sangita who is employed by the education department on a contract basis.

"I had just reported to duty in the morning when I saw a man engulfed in flames running towards the building entrance. A guard tried to douse his flames, but in vain," said senior security guard Shankar Chauhan. Lahane died before any help could arrive.

Besides his sister Sangita, Lahane is surived by his parents, wife and daughter. He used to run a cutlery shop at Ambika Nagar in Ulhasnagar.

Ulhasnagar Municipal commissioner Ashok Kumar Rankhamb denied the civic body's responsibility for the incident.

According to civic officers, Sangita was in the verge of being sacked, owing to mounting complaints against her from elected representatives and officials.

Sangita, too, had complained against S B Gaikwad, an education officer for sexual harassment. Gaikwad denied the allegations when this reporter contacted him, and claimed that the allegations were meant to blackmail him from taking action against her.

Image: Prashant Lahane

Photograph: Sahil Salvi